One of the biggest roster battles when Sean Payton first took the job with the Denver Broncos back in 2023 was at the kicker position. The Broncos had Brett Maher and Elliott Fry battling it out for the kicker job, but Payton hinted that the team was evaluating every other team's kicker battles, and that the opening day kicker for the Broncos may not be at camp with the team.
As fate would have it, the Broncos were able to swing a trade with Payton's old team -- the New Orleans Saints -- for veteran kicker Wil Lutz. Lutz had previously been one of the best kickers in the NFL, but lost a competition in 2023 for the Saints' job with Blake Grupe.
The Broncos sent a 2024 7th-round pick to the Saints in exchange for Lutz, who just recently signed a three-year contract extension with the team. Lutz has been lights out for the Broncos this season, while the guy who replaced him in New Orleans -- Blake Grupe -- just got cut by the team.
Broncos extend Wil Lutz while his replacement with Saints gets cut mid-season
Lutz has been one of the most accurate kickers in Denver Broncos history in his short time with the team. He's won multiple AFC Special Teams Player of the Week/Player of the Month awards at this point, and has come through for the Broncos in a big way during the team's current 8-game winning streak.
It's clear at this point that Payton stole him from the Saints, who are now reeling at the kicker position after cutting Grupe.
The #Saints are releasing K Blake Grupe after he missed 2 FGs on Sunday and has missed 8 on the year.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 25, 2025
New Orleans traded Wil Lutz to Denver in 2023 in order to make Grupe their kicker...
Lutz just got a 3-year extension with the Broncos... Grupe gets released in New Orleans. https://t.co/BqlPuBU6CB pic.twitter.com/mChpIEsPpD
In his three seasons in Denver, Lutz has made 88.6 percent of his kicks, including game-winning kicks against the Chiefs, Texans, and Giants in recent weeks.
You never want to root for someone else to fail elsewhere in the league. That's not what this is about. But it's a reminder of why it's so important to have players you trust at every position on your roster. For Sean Payton, it required patience to wait for Lutz to become available, and it was fortuitous for the Broncos that Grupe was kicking well for the Saints, at least at the time.
Now, Lutz will be in Denver for the foreseeable future while Grupe is going to be looking for his next NFL job. And with the way things have gone this year for a lot of teams around the league, it likely won't be long before he gets a shot. Special teams have been weird around the league this season, and the Saints are one of a handful of teams dealing with kicking issues.
The Broncos, thankfully, are not in the same boat.