Some serious training camp competitions are brewing for the New Orleans Saints, even at kicker. Wil Lutz returned from a yearlong absence recovering from a core muscle injury only to underperform in 2022, and the Saints brought in undrafted rookie Blake Grupe out of Notre Dame to push him.
Grupe might do more than that — he connected on all five of his field goal tries Tuesday, capping the day’s work with a successful 59-yarder. It’s just practice and you don’t want to read too deeply into that, but it’s worth noting Lutz is only 5-of-12 from 55-plus yards (including a blocked attempt in the 2023 regular season finale) in his career.
If Grupe can consistently hit kicks at closer range while matching Lutz in distance, he’ll make this a tough decision for New Orleans. Just ask Saints head coach Dennis Allen, who noted the rookie’s strong day after practice on Tuesday.
“He’s kicking the ball well. I feel like we’ve got two really good kickers,” Allen said, via Nola.com’s Rod Walker. “I think there is going to be some great competition throughout training camp. And I’m excited to watch it play out.”
So what’s Grupe’s story? He played at Demario Davis’s alma mater the first four years in college, leaving Arkansas State for Notre Dame in 2022 after connecting on 64 of his 86 field goal tries (74.4%) while making 162 of his 168 extra point attempts (96.4%). He was successful on all 49 of his point-after tries last season but only made 14 of 19 field goals (73.7%), with his longest attempt traveling just 46 yards. His longest field goal at Arkansas State went 50 yards, so anything further than that is uncharted territory for him.
But he’s off to a good start. If Grupe has a strong preseason performance, he just might unseat Lutz, despite the Pro Bowler’s strong resume.