"It's been a wild ride," new Saints placekicker Blake Grupe said about winning the job. "Thankful for everything that's come. It doesn't come easy. It comes with a lot of hard work, and just thankful for it all." The rookie kicker earned his spot on the initial 53-man roster over the seven-year veteran Wil Lutz. Denver's head coach Sean Payton reunites with Lutz who he signed in 2016 after a call and recommendation by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. In exchange, the Broncos will send a 2024 7th-round pick to New Orleans and take on his $1.7M compensation for 2023.
The competition between Grupe and Lutz was intense during the entire camp. According to John Hendrix of the Saints News Network, the rookie was 51/55, missing four times, and the vet misconnected five times, going 57/62. "It's been a long camp. It's been obviously a highly competitive camp. Going against a guy like that, that's done it for a while and done it at a high level. It wasn't relieved, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The job is still the same, but I'm glad to be here. Glad to be here for this team and just thankful for an opportunity," Grupe said.
Wil Lutz stabilized the placekicking position for the Saints after the team went through several players following Garrett Hartley and John Carney during the Payton era. Dennis Allen made a gritty call to entrust the Notre Dame rookie based primarily on his camp performance. "I think he's a confident young man," Allen told media in a post-practice interview. "I think it's really just about the fact that he's gone out and performed and performed well. And look, every player at some point has been his first opportunity. I don't think we're unique in that situation."
Grupe joins the 32 men who have the inevitable pressure-filled task of being an NFL placekicker on Sundays. He called his father and had a brief conversation about winning the job. The 5-7 kicker concluded his whirlwind day by saying, "It's been a lot to process today, but it's been special, and [I] wouldn't trade it for anything." It's a point well said. It's definitely time for the Caesars Superdome security staff not to have any snafus and to get know Grupe ahead of Week 1.
We will get our first look at the young kicker when New Orleans hosts the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 with a noon kickoff at Caesars Superdome on Sunday, Sept. 10.
More must-reads: