Broncos-Saints trade reunites former Pro Bowler with Sean Payton
The New Orleans Saints are the latest NFL team to ship off their veteran kicker, agreeing to trade Wil Lutz to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday.
The deal will result in a reunion between Lutz and his former head coach in New Orleans, Sean Payton, who is entering his first season at the helm in Denver.
The Saints sent Payton to the Broncos in January in exchange for two draft picks, including a 2024 second-rounder. It was reported last week that New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis "may be able to trade the loser of Wil Lutz/Blake Grupe ... for a sixth-round pick just before roster cutdown," and NBC Sports' Peter King said he "wouldn't be surprised to see Sean Payton show interest in Lutz in Denver."
After a good start to his career with the Saints from 2016-2020 (including a Pro Bowl honor in 2019), Lutz missed the entire 2021 campaign after suffering a core muscle injury. He then struggled in 2022, missing a career-high eight field goal attempts (23-for-31) for a career-worst 74.2% success rate, though he did drill 100% of his extra-point tries (33-for-33) for the first time since coming into the league.
Payton was Lutz's head coach in New Orleans through the 2021 season.
The Broncos-Saints transaction will have a ripple effect on a trio of kickers, including Lutz.
With the 29-year-old Georgia State product moving on, the door opens for undrafted rookie Blake Grupe to become the starter in New Orleans. Grupe kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired during the team's preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs in mid-August and was mistakenly stopped by security on the field pregame because he didn't have "credentials."
The trade also impacted former Dallas Cowboys (and Saints) kicker Brett Maher, who was in line to be Denver's starter prior to Tuesday's move. Instead, just one month after Payton defended him for his recent postseason struggles for Dallas, Maher now finds himself out of a job.
Maher was 1-for-6 on extra-point attempts in the Cowboys' pair of playoff games last season and went 0-for-2 on field goals in the Broncos' preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals this summer. The 33-year-old recovered to go 4-for-4 and 7-for-7 on field goals and extra points, respectively, across Weeks 2 and 3 of the preseason.
Denver's kicking vacancy opened up this summer after the team released longtime Bronco Brandon McManus in May. He had been the last remaining player in the organization from its Super Bowl 50 squad.
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