Tag: Wil Lutz

After nearly signing with Panthers, LB Justin Strnad returns to Broncos instead

After nearing signing with the Panthers, LB Justin Strnad decided to return to the Broncos instead.

Denver Broncos free agent linebacker Justin Strnad agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday, according to a report from The Athletic‘s Joe Person.

That deal would have seen Strnad reunited with former teammate Josey Jewell and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, but after initially making a verbal agreement to join the Panthers, Strnad changed his mind.

Strnad had “a change of heart” and returned to the Broncos on a one-year deal on Tuesday night, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Interestingly, this is not the first time this has happened this offseason.

Last week, kicker Wil Lutz initially agreed to a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the first day of the NFL’s free agency negotiating window. Before making anything official with Jacksonville, Lutz changed his mind and returned to Denver on a two-year deal instead.

Broncos tight end Adam Trautman was also close to joining another team before Denver got him back on a two-year contract, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. Broncos coach Sean Payton doesn’t seem to mind letting things go right down to the wire.

Strnad, 27, entered the league as a fifth-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2020. Now entering his fifth season in Denver, Strnad has emerged as a key special teams player for the Broncos. He played 86% of the team’s special teams snaps last season.

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

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Courtland Sutton, Wil Lutz to participate in NFLPA Classic golf tournament

Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton and kicker Wil Lutz will participate in the NFLPA Classic golf tournament this week.

Although the 2024 NFL season is months away, a pair of Denver Broncos get a chance to get competitive, just on a different field of play.

Wide receiver Courtland Sutton and kicker Wil Lutz will get the opportunity to participate in the NFLPA Classic golf tournament this week. The two will also serve as captains for their respective teams.

The three-day event will be held in Riviera Maya, Mexico, from March 21-23. This golf tournament allows Sutton, Lutz, and the 62 other NFL players participating to showcase their golf skills away from the football field.

Of the 62 other players participating, here are the other team captains who will serve alongside Sutton and Lutz: Joel Bitonio, Jacoby Brissett, Gabe Davis, Austin Ekeler, Dallas Goedert, Jordan Hicks, Marlon Humphrey, Aidan Hutchinson, Cole Kmet, Will Levis, Von Miller, Desmond Ridder, Harrison Smith and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Congratulations to Sutton and Lutz on this fun opportunity to represent the Denver Broncos.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

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.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Wil Lutz changes his mind and will stay in Denver after all

Wil Lutz initially agreed to a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but quickly changed his mind. Lutz chooses to stay with Sean Payton in Denver

Need a reminder that no player can officially sign with a new team until Wednesday? Former New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz agreed to join the Jacksonville Jaguars early Monday afternoon, but he changed his mind before dinnertime. The contracts announced during the tampering window can only be agreed to, but not officially signed. Due to this, Lutz can return to the Denver Broncos without actually breaking his deal with Jacksonville.

Lutz has previously stated his best years were with Sean Payton. Coincidentally, or not, Lutz found some of his magic again in Denver. Lutz only missed 4 field goals all year and went on multiple 5-plus week stretches without a missed attempt. Lutz’s best years were with Payton and his future years will be with Payton as well.

Wil Lutz changes mind to stay with Broncos rather than join Jaguars

The Jaguars will have to look elsewhere to fill their kicker vacancy.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ solution for the kicking game was short-lived. According to multiple reports, Wil Lutz decided to stay with the Denver Broncos after agreeing to terms on a three-year contract with the Jaguars earlier in the day Monday.

Denver acquired Lutz in a trade with the New Orleans Saints — reuniting him with Sean Payton — just prior to the 2023 season. He made 30 of his 34 field goals in his first year with the team and was reportedly considered a “top priority” for the Broncos this offseason.

But with the legal tampering period opening Monday and no deal in place with the Broncos, the Jaguars jumped in the mix with an offer that, for a brief period, had Lutz set to leave Denver.

That won’t be the case after all and the Jaguars are presumably back on the hunt for a new kicker in 2024.

Last season, the job was handled by Brandon McManus who was signed by the Jaguars shortly after he was released by the Broncos. After making 23 of his first 25 field goals in Jacksonville, McManus missed five out of six during a costly stretch late in the season.

In February, the Jaguars also reunited with their 2022 kicker, Riley Patterson, with a reserve/futures deal. Other free agent kickers include Greg Joseph, Joey Slye, and Randy Bullock.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Wil Lutz’s stay with the Denver Broncos ends sooner than expected

Wil Lutz’s stay with the Denver Broncos is ending sooner than expected. He’s expected to sign a multiyear contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars:

So much for that: former New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz is ending his run with the Denver Broncos sooner than fans may have thought. He’s expected to sign a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars when the new league year opens on March 13, again splitting ways with his longtime coach Sean Payton.

Lutz connected on 30 of his 34 field goals (88.2%) for Denver after being traded away from the Saints, once Payton’s successor Dennis Allen determined that rookie kicker Blake Grupe was a better option. Lutz’s longest successful field goal traveled 52 yards while he missed from longer distances of 57 and 55 yards; his average try was 34.97 yards.

Compare that to Grupe, who hit 30 of his 37 attempts (81.1%) in New Orleans from an average distance of 39.16 yards. Grupe’s longest make traveled 55 yards, but he went 1-for-2 on kicks from 54 yards. Grupe also hit all 40 of his extra point tries while Lutz missed twice on 31 attempts.

So what did the Broncos give up for 17 games with Lutz? A seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, falling at No. 239 overall. Depending on how active they are in free agency Denver could get a compensatory pick back in 2025, but Payton has bigger problems to worry about after kicking off an extensive rebuild — which Lutz won’t be a part of.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Jaguars signing Broncos kicker Wil Lutz to 3-year deal

For the second straight offseason, the Jaguars looked to Denver for an upgrade at the kicker position.

Update: Wil Lutz has reportedly changed his mind and will stay with the Denver Broncos on a two-year contract.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a deal in place to sign Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz to a three-year contract when he becomes a free agent Wednesday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Terms of the contract haven’t yet been revealed.

Lutz, 29, was acquired by the Broncos in a trade last offseason and made 30 of his 34 field goals in his only season with the team. Prior to that, he played six seasons with the New Orleans Saints where he made 165 of 195 field goals.

Last offseason, the Jaguars replaced kicker Riley Patterson with Brandon McManus after the latter was released by the Broncos. In his only season with Jacksonville, McManus made 23 of his first 25 field goals before suffering through a brutal stretch late in the year where he missed five of six field goals. That included a 48-yard miss against the Cincinnati Bengals that would’ve given the Jaguars a lead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

McManus is scheduled to become a free agent when the new league year begins Wednesday.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

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.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]