In trading for kicker Wil Lutz, Broncos’ Sean Payton adds familiar face

The Broncos’ kicker situation has been a revolving door since the spring, but head coach Sean Payton hopes he has found the answer with a familiar face.

Payton announced Tuesday that the team acquired Saints kicker Wil Lutz for a 2024 seventh-round pick. Denver also sent tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, the shining star in Saturday’s preseason finale, and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick. Payton said trading away Okwuegbunam was “pretty ordinary.”

Payton, who coached Lutz for five seasons in New Orleans, said the 29-year-old kicker has been a target for the Broncos. Lutz has played in 97 career games, posting a career field goal percentage of 84.6%. He was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2019 but sidelined for the entire 2021 season due to a core muscle injury. Lutz returned in 2022, converting a career-low 74.2% of his field goal attempts.

Denver monitored three to four kicking battles throughout the league, according to Payton. In New Orleans, Lutz was fighting for a roster spot with undrafted rookie Blake Grupe, who converted five of six field goal attempts in the preseason. Lutz had a strong training camp, but his familiarity with Payton played a part in the trade.

“(Lutz is) a young player that’s extremely talented,” Payton said. “We didn’t know how (the kicking battle) would unfold in New Orleans. But we’re glad it unfolded the way it did.”

Denver has had different kickers come in and out of the building since May. That’s when the Broncos released longtime kicker Brandon McManus. The team signed Elliott Fry and Randy Bullock tried out during mandatory minicamp but didn’t sign.

The Broncos added former Dallas kicker Brett Maher ahead of training camp, and for a moment, he appeared to have won the job. Fry was waived by the Broncos with an injury designation earlier this month, leaving Maher, who went 4 of 6 in field goal attempts in the preseason, as the lone kicker on the roster.

On Tuesday, Maher was released after Denver acquired Lutz.

“Brett did an outstanding job,” Broncos general manager George Paton said. “I feel like he should be kicking in this league.”

In an Instagram post, Lutz said his time in New Orleans “was the best 7 years of my life” and is excited to join the Broncos. Paton praised Lutz for his strong leg. The veteran has converted 58.6% of his field goal attempts from 50-plus yards.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwidMoPAGJ0/

A post shared by Wil Lutz (@wil_lutz5)

Lutz has delivered some clutch moments during his career. In 2019, he drilled a 58-yard game-winning field goal to beat Houston in Week 1. Last year, Lutz converted a 51-yard game-winning field goal in the season-opener against Atlanta. He hit a game-tying 60-yarder against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4, but the Saints lost in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

“This is a place kickers want to be (because) of the altitude and conditions,” Payton said. “We are excited.”

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