Wil Lutz's Return Will Be Big Boost for Saints

Wil Lutz returning to the fold for the Saints may not make a ton of headlines, but it should.

The Saints waived kicker Brett Maher on Tuesday, which signals good things about Wil Lutz returning to form in 2022. It's no secret, but New Orleans' kicking situation was atrocious last season. Lutz had a setback from his rehab that led to him announcing that he wouldn't return in late October after his window to return from injured reserve was open.

The Saints had Brett Maher in training camp after Lutz opted for surgery to repair a core muscle injury. Maher got hurt and landed on injured reserve, and then the team turned to Aldrick Rosas, Cody Parkey, and Brian Johnson before getting Maher back. New Orleans missed seven extra points in 2021 (31-of-38), with Rosas being the only perfect one (13-of-13). However, Rosas was 1-of-4 in the field goal department, as the team hit 83.3 percent of their attempts (25-of-30). 

Not having a stability at kicker certainly influenced some of the decisions Sean Payton and the Saints offense made last season. Maher certainly stepped in to provide some decent consistency down the stretch, and will likely have some teams looking at him to compete in camp.

Saints Kicker Carousel

• Brett Maher: 16-of-18 FG (88.9%), 42-yard long, 10-of-12 XPA (83.3%)
• Aldrick Rosas: 1-of-4 FG (25%), 44-yard long, 13-of-13 XPA (100%)
• Brian Johnson: 8-of-8 FG (100%), 52-yard long, 5-of-8 XPA (62.5%)
• Cody Parkey: 3-of-5 XPA (60%)

Lutz had a down season in 2020 compared to 2019, missing five field goals and going 23-of-28 (82.1%), but still accounted for 126 points and missing just one extra point on 58 attempts. While he's no Michael Thomas, Lutz will certainly be one of those players the Saints will be counting on to make a huge rebound in the new season. All signs point to Lutz responding, and he's learned some huge lessons from it from his January Instagram post.

"I’ve had a little bit of time to think about what the ‘21 season meant to me. It came with more adversity than any year ever has. It taught me that I could get knocked down (multiple times) and get back up. It taught me that my circle of family and friends are exactly who needs to be there. Sometimes adversity teaches you more about yourself than anything else ever can. This season was hard, but it allowed me to sit back and look at things with a whole new perspective. It built a foundation, and now the works just beginning.

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