Tag: charlie smyth

Saints punter Lou Hedley has chosen a new jersey number

Australian punter Lou Hedley has chosen a new jersey number in his second season with the Saints:

There isn’t a new punter kicking for the New Orleans Saints, but the one they have will be wearing a new number. Second-year pro Lou Hedley has given up his No. 39 jersey to switch to the more-appealing No. 15, per the team website. It’s a new number for him after he wore No. 94 in college at Miami.

So who will be wearing his old jersey number? Right now, that’s been assigned to rookie kicker Charlie Smyth. So the Saints’ Australian punter will be wearing No. 15 and their Irish kicker is using No. 39.

Fans should expect some competition to be brought in for Hedley, though it’s likelier to be a rookie free agent signing than a veteran pickup. While the Saints’ coaching staff were largely pleased with Hedley’s performance in his rookie year, he struggled to give his coverage team much hang time or room to work with. He ranked last in the league in both hang time (4.03 seconds) and yards per punt (43). We rated him with a D in our rookie report cards at the end of the year.

Still, it’s possible Hedley beats his competition again and earns another year in black and gold. If he does overcome that challenge, he’ll be wearing No. 15.

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New Orleans Saints sign international kicker Charlie Smyth from Northern Ireland

The New Orleans Saints are signing international kicker Charlie Smyth from Northern Ireland. He’ll have a great opportunity in black and gold:

Here’s some competition for Blake Grupe. The Athletic’s Kalyn Kahler reports that the New Orleans Saints are signing rookie kicker Charlie Smyth as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. Smyth hails from Northern Ireland and previously worked as a goalkeeper for County Down’s Gaelic football team.

He’s only been kicking an NFL football since August, but the 22-year-old is already good from distances of 60 yards in practice. He’ll have a chance to develop with a respected special teams coaching staff and possibly push Grupe. We’ll see if he can perform in a new environment over the summer.

The Saints haven’t shied away from adding international players before. Their punter Lou Hedley is Australian, and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi values the different skill sets that players from foreign backgrounds can offer.

Because Smyth is joining the Saints as an IPP player, he will not count towards the 90-man offseason roster limit for training camp. Odds are stronger for him to hang on with the team’s practice squad after roster cuts in September than to unseat Grupe altogether, but you never know. Stranger things have happened in the NFL.

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Irish kicker Charlie Smyth to work out for the Saints

The Saints will work out Irish kicker Charlie Smyth this week. He could be good competition for Blake Grupe:

The NFL’s International Pathway Program might be coming to New Orleans. The Saints will work out Irish kicker Charlie Smyth later this week, per NFL Ireland’s Michael McQuaid. Smyth, 22, is a native of Mayobridge in Northern Ireland, where he’s played Gaelic football as a goalkeeper.

Smyth tried out at the NFL Scouting Combine in February and made 12 of his 16 field goal tries. He also participated at South Florida’s pro day with other international prospects, where he impressed by going 8-for-10 with his longest kick hitting from 60 yards. Now he’ll have an opportunity to show the Saints what he can do at a private workout.

He could be good competition for Blake Grupe. The rookie wasn’t good enough last season while going 28-for-35 with misses from 29, 29, 46, 47, 51, 52 and 54 yards. The Saints need to bring in some competition for Grupe, and Smyth might be an attractive option. The Irishman is expected to sign with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent, and the Saints can lay the groundwork for recruiting him at meetings like this upcoming private workout.

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