Tag: Blake Gillikin

Complete contract details, salary cap breakdown for P Blake Gillikin

Gillikin signed a two-year, $3.7 million contract to return to the Cardinals.

It has been said there’s very little rest for the weary in the NFL, and that’s especially the case at this time of the year.

The transactions have been in the hundreds around the league in the first week of the 2024 league year and the Arizona Cardinals have been a big part of that.

Eleven players have been re-signed and another eight added that ended the 2023 season on another team. The total includes four players re-signed prior to the official opening of the league year on Wednesday: wide receiver Greg Dortch, defensive end L.J. Collier, linebacker Jesse Luketa and tackle/guard Carter O’Donnell.

Prior to Saturday, we reported on the contract details for 11 players. Cards Wire learned the numbers for another six today, leaving only wide receiver Chris Moore and defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga with unknown figures.

The six are punter Blake Gillikin, long snapper Aaron Brewer, offensive linemen Elijah Wilkinson, Trystan Colon and Keith Ismael and cornerback Bobby Price.

Blake Gillikin contract, salary cap details

Gillikin signed a two-year contract worth $3.7 million that has $1.2 million guaranteed including a $600,000 signing bonus. His base salary for 2024 has $600,000 guaranteed and the 2025 salary is $1.8 million.

Charged against the salary cap is $1.6 million this year and $2.1 million in 2025.

Gillikin was signed by the Cardinals on Oct. 3 to replace Nolan Cooney and made the transition nicely including being the holder on kicks for Matt Prater. He got better as the season progressed and in 13 games averaged 50.6 yards (third in the NFL) with a 43.6-yard net (eighth). He had only two touchbacks to go with 11 inside the 20 and a long of 77.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

P Blake Gillikin returning to Cardinals on 2-year deal

An in-season signing last year, he set the single-season franchise record with a 50.6 yard punting average.

The Arizona Cardinals are bringing back punter Blake Gillikin. He has agreed to a two-year deal, first reported by the MLFootball account, confirmed by ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss.

Details of the deal are not yet known.

Gillikin was an in-season signing last year. Nolan Cooney won the punting job out of training camp over Matt Haack but was cut after four games. The Cardinals signed Gillikin and he played the remaining 13 games, averaging 50.6 yards per punt with a 42.9-yard net average.

His 50.6 yards per punt set a franchise record.

He had only two touchbacks all season but also only had 11 punts downed inside the 20.

Gillikin is 26 years old.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

No Saints players led their positions in 2024 Pro Bowl Games fan voting

No current New Orleans Saints players led their positions in fan voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, but two of their former teammates did:

This is tough. No current New Orleans Saints players led their positions in fan voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, but two of their former teammates did while playing for other teams: New York Jets punter Thomas Morstead and Miami Dolphins left tackle Terron Armstead both led the AFC in fan votes at their positions.

Maybe the Saints shouldn’t have let them go. Morstead was teammates with Armstead in Miami last year, but he’s continuing to play at a high level in the years since the Saints cut him to open the door for his successor Blake Gillikin. Gillikin was also released earlier this year in favor of Lou Hedley, who has experienced an up-and-down rookie year in the NFL.

As for Armstead: the Saints’ uncertainty at left tackle speaks for itself, though his situation was more complicated. On top of the serious salary cap implications involved, Armstead’s injury history made it tough to justify re-signing him. Even if they had kept Armstead, they would need an expensive insurance policy. Injuries have limited him to just 9 games this season for the Dolphins.

Fan voting is just one part of the process — coaches and the players themselves will also have ballots, so it’s possible some Saints players end up making the cut. And there’s always the possibility they can get in as alternates should starters opt out or are unavailable while playing in the Super Bowl. The NFL announced positional leaders in fan votes on Wednesday, with the AFC and NFC player rosters scheduled for release at 7 p.m. CT on NFL Network and NFL+.

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Former Saints punter Blake Gillikin signs with the Cardinals

Blake Gillikin signed with the Cardinals, replacing another former Saints punter:

The Arizona Cardinals are swapping one former New Orleans Saints punter for another. Per the latest update to the daily NFL transactions wire, the Cardinals have signed Blake Gillikin — opening a spot on their roster by waiving Nolan Cooney.

Gillikin was released by the Saints after they chose to go with rookie punter Lou Hedley this summer, following a training camp battle. Ironically, Gillikin himself beat Cooney (a former Saints undrafted free agent out of Syracuse) for the job two summers ago.

Good luck to him in the desert. Hedley hasn’t performed as well as the Saints hoped when they went with him at punter, but Gillikin has tried out for a couple of different teams before finding the right opportunity. That this is all happening while Thomas Morstead continues to punt well for the New York Jets adds another layer of frustration for Saints faithful.

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Cardinals make change at punter, release Nolan Cooney

They signed Blake Gillikin, who was the Saints’ punter in 2021-2022, to replace Nolan Cooney following his release.

The Arizona Cardinals are shaking things up on special teams. They have made a change at punter.

The Cardinals announced a few roster moves on Tuesday. Among them. they released punter Nolan Cooney and signed former New Orleans Saint punter Blake Gillikin.

Gillikin signed with the Saints in 2020 as an undrafted rookie out of Penn State and spent his rookie season on injured reserve. He was the Saints’ punter in 2021-2022, playing in all 34 games. Over those two seasons, he averaged 47.0 yards per punt and had a 41.7 net average. He had 61 punts downed inside the 20. His 32 punts downed inside the 20 last year were fourth in the NFL.

He is 25 years old.

Cooney won the punting battle with veteran Matt Haack in training camp.

In four games, he averaged 45.5 yards per punt with a 40.3-yard net average. He had two punts downed inside the 20.

On Sunday, he did have one bad punt that only went 20 yards on Sunday.

We will see how Gillikin does. He will also likely handle holding duties, which could create issues in the kicking game with Matt Prater.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Recently-released Saints punter Blake Gillikin tries out for Eagles

Recently-released Saints punter Blake Gillikin tried out for the Eagles alongside several other free agents | @DillySanders

Recently-released New Orleans Saints punter Blake Gillikin is in search for his next opportunity, and he didn’t have to wait long — he was invited to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles’ open job. The Saints overhauled their special teams unit this season, moving on from Gillikin and longtime kicker Wil Lutz in favor of undrafted rookies Lou Hedley and Blake Grupe.

Lutz was traded to the Denver Broncos with no worry of finding a new team, but Gillikin is still out on the open market searching for his next chance. He tried out alongside NFL punters Pat O’Donnell and Colby Wadman, per the daily NFL transactions wire.

Gillikin appeared in 34 games for the Saints over two years, averaging 47 yards per punt and landing 38.1% of his tries within the 20-yard line. He’s got the biggest leg and the best accuracy out of the three tryout specialists, but a lack of consistency cost him his job in New Orleans.

O’Donnell spent the first eight years of his career with the Chicago Bears before going turncoat and signing with the Green Bay Packers last season; he’s averaged 45.1 yards per punt while placing 36.4% of them inside the 20.

Wadman hasn’t punted in the NFL since 2019, where he averaged 44.5 yards per punt and put 35.7% of his punts inside the opposing 20. He spent the last two years in the USFL.

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Eagles worked out five players, including 3 punters ahead of the season opener

Philadelphia #Eagles worked out five players including 3 punters ahead of season opener

Philadelphia is looking to fill out the 53-man roster with even more talent and worked out five players on Thursday.

Philadelphia brought back Arryn Siposs on the practice squad, and they’ll likely sign a punter and hold another competition between now and the September, 10 season opener.

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30-year old Saints rookie Lou Hedley has won the Saints punter competition

30-year old rookie Lou Hedley has won the Saints punter competition

Now isn’t that something: the New Orleans Saints will be going in a new direction at punter this season, with 30-year-old rookie Lou Hedley named the starter ahead of third-year pro Blake Gillikin. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that Hedley won the job, adding that the Saints are seeking to trade Gillikin if possible.

Hedley might be the most interesting man in the NFL. The former scaffolder hails from Australia and has pursued other ventures before trying his hand at pro football, including owning a tattoo shop in Indonesia. He sold his stake in the business to fund a move to America, where he eventually joined the Miami Hurricanes and put NFL scouts on notice.

He’ll soon be punting on Sundays. The Saints also made a change at kicker by going with Blake Grupe (another rookie) and trading Wil Lutz to the Denver Broncos, where he’s reunited with Sean Payton. Dennis Allen is putting his own specialists in place in a pivotal year for his coaching career.

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Report: Saints exploring trade interest for punter Blake Gillikin

Report: Saints exploring trade interest for punter Blake Gillikin, may turn to rookie Lou Hedley

Could Wil Lutz and Blake Gillikin be a package deal? NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints are shopping their veteran punter around the league to see if he has any trade value — meaning rookie punter Lou Hedley (Miami) would be getting the nod to replace him.

Neither Gillikin nor Hedley played at a very high level this offseason. Gillikin’s hang time and accuracy has regressed a bit from the high standards he set for himself in his first year replacing Thomas Morstead, while Hedley has taken some rookie lumps. But if the Saints believe all else is equal, it could make sense to get what they can for Gillikin and make a change.

Getting draft picks back for both specialists would be a win, even if they’re only late-round selections. Stay tuned for updates.

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Thomas Morstead isn’t taking his 15-year NFL career for granted

Thomas Morstead isn’t taking his 15-year NFL career for granted. The longtime Saints punter has caught on with the Jets’ Super Bowl-or-bust campaign:

You won’t find many players who left a team with greater appreciation from the fanbase than Thomas Morstead, and not many of them would be punters. The longtime New Orleans Saints specialist embraced the city, making himself and his family a part of the community — and proving to be a reliable asset on the field whenever the team called his number.

But even good things come to an end. These days Morstead has found himself hitched to the New York Jets’ Super Bowl-or-bust campaign, and he isn’t taking his 15-year NFL career for granted.

“God blessed me with some long legs,” Morstead told Jets Wire managing editor Billy Riccette, “I guess I walked into a casino with 10 bucks and, and have, you know, come out with millions. You know, it’s like, just an awesome dream ride.”

Morstead jump-started his career with a Super Bowl win on the Saints’ legendary 2009 squad, earning his own spot in franchise history with the iconic “Ambush” onside kick coming out of halftime. That he went on to earn Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition while appearing in 205 games with the Saints (190 regular season, 15 playoffs) is remarkable. That he capped it off by training his own replacement, Blake Gillikin, before moving on to continue his career is laudable.

He’s hoping to lean on that experience now as the Jets go all-in on a Super Bowl run of their own. Morstead isn’t the oldest player on their team (he’s 37; Aaron Rodgers turns 40 in December) but he does feel the generation gap with his younger teammates, and he’s making the most of the opportunity to share these moments with his family. When his children were younger, they didn’t know much about his job besides it taking him away from home all the time. Now he’s involving them as much as he can.

Morstead continued, “And, you know, I think I’ve always had pretty strong whys to take out the making good money and having an awesome career experience, I think I’ve had a really strong set of whys as to what kept me going, you know, my kids are old enough, they kind of know what’s going on now. So it’s really cool to be playing, and having experiences with them, where they get to be a part of it. You know, stuff that not a lot of guys get a chance to do.”

You can read Riccette’s full interview with Morstead here as he discusses his NFL experiences, why he went to the Jets this season, and what he hopes to accomplish in the fall. So long as he isn’t playing against the Saints, we’ll be rooting for him. Hopefully he can return home some day and retire in black and gold.

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