Tag: kicker

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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NFL star and former MLS defender Aubrey pays visit to USMNT camp

Brandon Aubrey, a former MLS draft pick who led the NFL in scoring last season, stopped by USMNT camp this week

The U.S. men’s national team had a special guest at Tuesday’s practice, a familiar face for fans in Dallas.

The USMNT invited Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey to a training session ahead of Thursday’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal showdown with Jamaica at AT&T Stadium.

Aubrey, 29, emerged as one of the best kickers in the NFL last season, but his professional sports career actually started in soccer.

Aubrey was a defender at Notre Dame from 2013-2016, scoring 15 goals and earning first-team All-ACC recognition with the Fighting Irish. He was drafted by Toronto FC in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

The defender spent his first season on loan to Toronto’s second team (a USL squad at the time), then he spent one year with Bethlehem Steel FC (another USL team that formerly served as a Philadelphia Union affiliate). After 47 appearances in the USL, Aubrey was out of soccer by 2019.

Aubrey started working as a software engineer. While watching an NFL game in 2019, Aubrey and his wife looked on as a kicker missed an attempt.

“You could do that,” she told him.

So he did.

Aubrey hired a kicking coach and he worked in his garage during the pandemic. After three years of training, he finally got an opportunity with the Birmingham Stallions (then of the USFL, a league that has since merged with the XFL to form the UFL).

In his first season as a professional kicker, Aubrey made the All-USFL first-team and he won back-to-back championships with the Stallions. After going 32-of-37 on field goal attempts in the spring league, Aubrey was invited to Cowboys training camp last summer.

Aubrey ended up winning Dallas’ starting kicker job and he went on to go 36-of-38 on field goal attempts in 2023, leading the NFL with 157 points. He quickly established himself as one of the best kickers in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in his first season.

Aubrey is following in the footsteps of Josh Lambo, who switched from soccer to American football and went on to have a seven-year career as a kicker in the NFL. If his first season is any indication of what’s to come, Aubrey is well on his way to surpassing Lambo’s feats.

The winner of the USA-Jamacia match on Thursday will advance to face the winner of the Mexico-Panama clash in the Concacaf Nations League final at the Cowboys’ stadium on Sunday night.

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Here are Wil Lutz’s contract details with the Broncos

Broncos kicker Wil Lutz will have a salary cap hit of $2.86 million in 2024.

After initially agreeing to a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, kicker Wil Lutz changed his mind and returned to the Denver Broncos on a two-year deal instead. Terms of his contract with the Broncos are now known.

Lutz’s two-year deal has a total value of $8.4 million. He received a $3.3 million signing bonus that will be prorated as $1.65 million salary cap hits over the next two years.

This season, Lutz will have a base salary of $1.21 million (guaranteed). That salary combined with Lutz’s prorated signing bonus will give the kicker a total salary cap hit of $2.86 million in 2024.

Next year, Lutz’s base salary will increase to $3.635 million (not guaranteed), and he can earn an additional $255,000 through per-game roster bonuses. Those two figures combined with Lutz’s prorated signing bonus will give him a total salary cap hit of $5.54 million in 2025.

If the Broncos want to get out of Lutz’s contract next year, releasing him would result in a $1.65 million “dead money” cap charge with a net savings of $3.89 million. The 29-year-old kicker is entering his second season in Denver.

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Plot twist! Wil Lutz is re-signing with the Broncos after all

After initially agreeing to a 3-year deal with the Jaguars, Wil Lutz has changed his mind and decided to re-sign with the Broncos instead.

It turns out the Denver Broncos won’t have to find a new kicker this offseason.

After initially agreeing to a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier today, kicker Wil Lutz has changed his mind. Lutz now plans to sign a two-year deal with the Broncos instead, according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson.

“Lutz is still going to be a Bronco,” the kicker’s agent, John Perla, told Tomasson. “There was an original arrangement (with Jacksonville) and Wil just felt a certain loyalty to Denver and felt he would be more productive in a better spot in Denver.”

Players can make agreement with teams starting today, but no contracts can be officially signed until the NFL’s new league year begins Wednesday. “We didn’t have anything in writing,” Perla said of Lutz’s agreement with the Jags.

So, in a twist, Lutz will end up staying with the Broncos in 2024. There’s never a dull moment during the NFL’s free agency frenzy.

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Broncos kicker Wil Lutz backs out of 3-year deal with Jaguars

After initially agreeing to a three-year deal with the Jaguars, Wil Lutz backed out of the agreement to return to the Broncos instead.

Story update: After initially agreeing to a three-year deal with the Jaguars, Wil Lutz backed out of that agreement and decided to return to the Broncos on a two-year deal instead. See our original post below. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with Denver Broncos pending free agent kicker Wil Lutz, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal will not become official until the NFL’s new league year begins on Wednesday.

After cutting Brandon McManus last spring, Broncos coach Sean Payton traded a seventh-round pick to the New Orleans Saints in the summer to acquire Lutz (he’s one of many former Saints who reunited with Payton in Denver).

Ironically, Lutz will now replace McManus in Jacksonville. McManus, 32, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday.

Because part of his contract was still being paid by New Orleans, Lutz was a relative bargain for the Broncos in 2023 with a $1.25 million salary.

Lutz (29) struggled early in the 2023 season, missing a field goal and an extra point attempt in Week 1, but he bounced back to finish the year 30-of-34 (88.2%) on field goal attempts and 29-of-31 (93.5%) on extra point attempts.

Lutz has converted 85.2% of his field goal attempts and 97.2% of his extra point attempts in his career. The veteran kicker spent seven years with the Saints before landing in Denver last year. His career long is 60 yards.

In addition to seeking a quarterback, the Broncos now also need a new kicker. We are tracking all of Denver’s free agency moves on Broncos Wire.

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Broncos free agency: Updates for Sebastian Joseph-Day and Wil Lutz

Sebastian Joseph-Day and Wil Lutz are names to watch as the Broncos enter NFL free agency.

The NFL’s free agency negotiating window is moments away from opening and the Denver Broncos have been linked to a pair of looming free agents.

The first player is defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, who “would welcome the Broncos having interest in him,” according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson. There’s been no word yet on if that interest is mutual, but it’s worth noting that Joseph also “considered signing with the Broncos in 2022,” according to Tomasson.

Joseph-Day (6-4, 310 pounds) spent the first four years of his career with the Los Angeles Rams before signing with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2022. He was cut by the Chargers last December and then signed with the San Francisco 49ers. The interior defensive lineman is now set to hit free agency.

Elsewhere on the free agent front, the Broncos are “continuing talks with impending free-agent kicker Wil Lutz,” according to Tomasson (and others). Chase McLaughlin just signed a three-year extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth $4.1 million per season and it wouldn’t be surprising if Lutz is seeking a similar deal.

We will be tracking all of Denver’s free agency moves on Broncos Wire.

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How much will it cost the Broncos to re-sign kicker Wil Lutz?

Broncos pending free agent kicker Wil Lutz could cost $3.5 million to $4.5 million per year on his next deal. Should the team re-sign him?

After parting ways with Brandon McManus last spring, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton brought in a familiar face to replace him.

Payton traded a seventh-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for Wil Lutz, reuniting with his old kicker. Lutz struggled early in the year before bouncing back to finish the season 30-of-34 on field goals.

The 29-year-old kicker is now scheduled to become a free agent in March and he’s one of the Broncos’ most notable pending free agents.

Lutz played on a team-friendly $1.7 million deal last season because the Saints were still paying part of his salary. Now with leverage gained as a free agent, Lutz will be able to command a pay raise from the Broncos.

KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis estimates Lutz could receive a multiple-year deal in the range of $3.5 million to $4.5 million per season. That would put him in the top half of the league’s highest-paid kickers, but outside the top ten.

(It’s worth noting that the above number seems to be a projection from Klis, not a report of the kicker’s demands.)

Placing a one-year franchise tag on Lutz would pay him $5.67 million in 2024. That’s unlikely to happen as Denver will likely aim to sign him to a cheaper, multi-year contract.

Unless the Broncos give Lutz a contract extension before March 11, he will be allowed to begin negotiating with other teams on that date. If Denver wants to bring him back for the 2024 season (and beyond), the team would be wise to get a deal done before March 11.

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Wisconsin lands its kickoff specialist for 2024

Wisconsin lands its kickoff specialist for 2024

Wisconsin added a commitment from walk-on kickoff specialist Gianni Smith on Tuesday.

Smith joins as a grad transfer from Portland State. He recorded touchbacks on 45 of his 63 kickoffs last season, plus has a career field goal mark of 17/22 (8/9 in 2023) — meaning he can also kick field goals if necessary.

Related: Ranking the Big Ten head football coaches entering the 2024 season

Wisconsin used Gavin Lahm in the kickoff specialist role in 2023. He sent just 12 of his 32 kickoffs for touchbacks — making this an opportunity to upgrade entering an important 2024 season.

Wisconsin is in good shape in the other special teams departments. Kicker Nathanial Vakos is back after a stellar 2023, and punter Atticus Bertrams returns after a so-so debut season in Madison.

The Badgers’ 2024 transfer class is heralded as one of the best in the nation. It is a group that must contribute immediately in 2024, especially if Wisconsin is to improve on 2023’s 7-6 record.

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Harrison Butker comments on Bills kicker Tyler Bass following missed field goal

Harrison Butker commented on #Bills kicker Tyler Bass following his missed field goal against the #Chiefs on Sunday.

The ending of the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills divisional round game shocked many fans. The Kansas City victory wasn’t the surprise but more for the missed potential game-tying field goal from reliable Bills kicker Tyler Bass.

The Chiefs were clinging to a three-point lead with under two minutes remaining. Bass pushed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right, cementing a 27-24 Kansas City victory. Harrison Butker was on the other sideline that night and shared his thoughts while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

“I actually didn’t reach out to him at all. It was unfortunate,” Butker explained. “I’m just trying to give him some time away, probably to clear his head from kicking and kind of enjoy the offseason a little bit. But I’ll probably text him later on this offseason. He’s a guy that went to Georgia Southern, so I’ve kicked with him in the offseason.”

Butker converted on his two field goal attempts of the game last Sunday in Buffalo and understands the pressure kickers face during big games. He believes Bass will bounce back from this bad moment but needs time to regroup.

“He’s a great kicker, and I really think he does a great job,” Butker said. “But just giving him a little space right now. And it’s tough because as a kicker, you’re gonna have games like that, where you miss a kick and, ideally, it’s not a big game, but you can prepare and do everything you can, but sometimes, the cards just don’t fall in your favor. And that’s why it’s so important to remain humble because it can happen to any of us.”

The Chiefs kicker has another big game this Sunday in Baltimore and has proven to be ready for the moment in the past.

Comparing Wil Lutz’s stats to Brandon McManus’ stats in 2023

Wil Lutz converted 88.2% of his field goals in 2023, better than Brandon McManus (81.1%). Lutz did miss two PATs (McManus was perfect).

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton made a somewhat surprising move last May when he released veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

McManus ranked second on the club’s all-time scoring list and he was the last remaining member from the Super Bowl 50 squad before being cut. The kicker was coming off a down year, however, and releasing him saved the Broncos $3.75 million in 2023 salary cap space.

McManus signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars a few days later.

Denver then had a kicker competition between Brett Maher and Elliott Fry last summer, but neither of them ended up winning the job. Before the start of the season, Payton traded a seventh-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for Wil Lutz, his former kicker.

The switch from McManus to Lutz saved the Broncos $2.05 million in 2023 cap space, so it made sense financially. In hindsight, it also made sense from a football perspective.

Lutz converted 88.2% of his field goals this season, better than the 81.1% conversion rate that McManus posted. Here’s a quick look at a few more of their stats.