Saints Kicker Could Be Traded to a Familiar Face
The New Orleans Saints have a legitimate competition at kicker. At incumbent is eight-year veteran Wil Lutz. The 29-year-old Lutz is second in franchise history in points scored and extra points made and third in successful field goals. His 84.6% career field goal percentage is the best in franchise history for a kicker who's played more than 18 games with the team. He also holds single season franchise records for total field goals made and successful kicks from 40-49 yards and over 50 yards.
At challenger is Blake Grupe, the upstart undrafted rookie. Grupe kicked his first four years collegiately at Arkansas State, where converted 96% of his extra points and 74.4% of his field goals. He finished his college career at Notre Dame in 2022, successfully making all of his 49 extra points and 73.7% of his field goals. His 91 points and 14 field goals were best among independent schools after leading the Sun Belt conference in both categories the prior year.
Both kickers have been outstanding throughout training camp, going nearly perfect on their kick attempts. Each player has been perfect through two preseason contests. Lutz has gone 4/4 with a long of 51 yards, with Grupe going 3/3 and a long of 37. Both have shown excellent range and accuracy on their kicks, but also a deep leg on kickoffs.
Whichever kicker doesn't get chosen by the Saints has performed well enough that the team probably won't be able to bring them back to the practice squad. If released, they'll likely be snatched up by a team within the day.
There are teams that have had kicking issues this preseason. However, one squad with a very familiar face in charge has been rumored as a possible destination for one of these New Orleans kickers.
Sep 3, 2022; Notre Dame Fighting Irish place kicker Blake Grupe (99) kicks a field goal against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Peter King of NBC Sports suggested that either Lutz or Grupe could be traded to Denver Broncos and former Saints coach Sean Payton. Said King in a Monday column for NBC:
GM Mickey Loomis may be able to trade the loser of Wil Lutz/Blake Grupe (free agent, Notre Dame) for a sixth-round pick just before roster cutdown. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Sean Payton show interest in Lutz in Denver.
Sep 11, 2022; New Orleans Saints place kicker Wil Lutz (3) kicks the go ahead field goal against the Atlanta Falcons. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY
That Payton is interested in a New Orleans player should come as no surprise. There are eight former Saints on the Broncos roster and eight former New Orleans players or coaches on Denver's coaching staff.
The move does make sense for Denver. After surprisingly cutting K Brandon McManus this offseason, the Broncos have had kicking issues throughout the preseason.
Former New Orleans K Brett Maher, an injury replacement for Lutz in 2021, has been just 2 of 4 on field goals this preseason. Maher also doesn't have nearly the range or kickoff strength that Lutz does or that Grupe has shown.
Upon being released by the Baltimore Ravens as a rookie, Lutz signed with Payton and the Saints in 2016. After some early struggles, he'd blossom into one of the NFL's most accurate kickers, especially in the clutch. It would stand to reason that Payton might prefer Lutz because of familiarity, but either he or Grupe are an upgrade over Maher.
Would trading Grupe or Lutz really make sense for New Orleans?
Oct 2, 2022; New Orleans Saints place kicker Wil Lutz (3) attempts a 61-yard field goal out of the hold of punter Blake Gillikin (4) against the Minnesota Vikings. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
Lutz is coming off the worst year of his productive career. He missed a career-high eight field goals in 2022, converting a career-low 74.2% of his attempts. However, he was also coming off of season-ending surgery that cost him all of 2021 and was working with a new holder (Blake Gillikin had replaced long-time Saint Thomas Morstead in 2021)
New Orleans has been in eight games decided by three points or less over the last two years. They went 3-5 in those contests. Their kicking situation was abysmal with Lutz sidelined two years ago.
I expect the Saints to stick with the reliable Lutz to enter the year. He's looked fantastic this offseason and even with his struggles in 2022 still kicked a game-winning 51-yard field goal against Atlanta. He also nailed a 60-yard kick to tie the game late against Minnesota and narrowly missed a 61-yarder to win that contest on the final play.
Wil Lutz is entering the last year of a contract that will cost the Saints $2.4 million against their salary cap if they trade or release him. Denver or another potential trade partner could theoretically pick up part or all of that contract, but it still makes more financial sense to keep the clutch kicker for at least another year.
Blake Grupe's performance should make him enticing to other teams, especially on a cheap rookie deal. Potential draft picks for either Grupe or Lutz would certainly be tempting, but it might be better for New Orleans in the long term to hold on to both kickers for a year.
New Orleans Saints K Blake Grupe (19) kicks the game-winning field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs during preseason. Credit: New Orleans Saints
In 2020, then-rookie punter Blake Gillikin was impressive throughout training camp. He created a close competition with incumbent Thomas Morstead, but didn't necessarily do enough to overtake him.
With Morstead entering the last year of his contract at the time, Gillikin was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a sudden back injury. That allowed him to not be signed by any other team and he took over as the team's punter in 2021.
This is certainly a scenario that could play itself out for New Orleans again at kicker. The Saints play their final preseason game this Sunday against the Houston Texans. August 29 is the mandatory cut down date for all NFL teams to trim their rosters to 53 players.
