So, Wil Lutz is staying with the Broncos after all
Mar 11, 2024, 3:16 PM | Updated: 3:38 pm
In something straight out of the college ranks, the Broncos have a flip.
Kicker Wil Lutz, who reportedly was headed to Jacksonville to replace Brandon McManus earlier in the day, instead will remain with the Broncos on a 2-year deal. KUSA Ch. 9’s Mike Klis first reported the change of heart.
It’s a stunning turn of events — and a significant boost for the Broncos, who retain a kicker who was one of the league’s best last year and represented an upgrade over McManus, who the team released in May.
In his first year with the Broncos, Wil Lutz ranked 13th among 37 kickers with at least five field-goal attempts. His 88.2-percent success rate included a 27-of-29 figure from inside of 50 yards. It was also the best success rate for a Broncos kicker since 2014, when Connor Barth hit 15 of his 16 field-goal attempts as a midseason replacement for McManus on placekicks.
WIL LUTZ STABILIZED THE BRONCOS’ KICKING GAME
After cutting McManus, the Broncos held some tryouts, then settled on a competition that involved Elliott Fry and Brett Maher. Fry suffered an injury in the preseason opener at Arizona, leaving Maher as the only kicker standing. But when the preseason wound to a close, the Broncos jettisoned Maher, who was trying to re-establish his place after a postseason meltdown the previous January with the Dallas Cowboys.
Denver was able to add Lutz after after he lost a camp competition in New Orleans to rookie Blake Grupe. Grupe hit all of his extra points, but his field-goal success rate of 81.1 percent was below what Lutz had in Denver.
Lutz rebounded from a rough start to his Broncos tenure, which included missing a field goal and an extra point in a one-point loss to the Las Vegas Raiders to open the season. From that point forward, Lutz flourished. He hit 11-of-11 field goals in November, allowing him to earn the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month award.
What’s more, Lutz is the longest-tenured Sean Payton placekicker — by far. This season was his seventh with Payton, including six with the Saints — one of which was spent on injured reserve. Lutz can handle Payton’s ebbs and flows. And for the Broncos, he was an upgrade.
Now, he is apparently back.
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