Good on you, Blake Grupe. The rookie kicker out of Notre Dame hasn’t shied away from the competition posed by his former Pro Bowl teammate Wil Lutz at New Orleans Saints training camp — after ending organized team activities in June with a 59-yard field goal, Grupe picked up where he left off in July by hitting all six of his kicks at Thursday’s practice session, at ranges from 33 to 44 yards out.
That’s per Saints News Network’s Ross Jackson, who noted that Lutz hit the same marks a day earlier. Neither kicker has pulled away from the other through the first two days of practice, which is probably what we should have expected to open camp. But it’s good to see Grupe rising to the occasion.
Lutz looked rusty after a surgically-repaired groin muscle kept him out of football in 2021, returning for 2022 only to miss 8 of his 31 field goals (though he was perfect on 33 extra-point attempts). His 74.2% success rate on field goals was his worst as a pro, and it dropped his career average from 86.6% down to 84.6%. Lutz agreed to take a pay cut this offseason to compete for his job and earn back what he had given up, saving the Saints some salary cap space along the way, but the move also made it easier to let him go if the rookie impresses enough to win the battle.
More strong performances like Thursday’s kicking period will continue to help Grupe’s case. Let’s see how he does in front of a live audience on Friday when the Saints welcome several thousand fans to the team facility for an open practice session.
