The New Orleans Saints finally released Blake Grupe this week, a move fans knew was necessary months ago. It’s hard to see what Wil Lutz is doing with Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos and not regret picking Grupe over Lutz.
The success over the last three seasons paints that picture just fine, but the actions of the last week drive it home. On Monday, the Broncos gave a three year extension. On Tuesday, the Saints handed Grupe his walking papers.
When the Saints picked Grupe, they traded Lutz to Denver for a seventh round pick in 2024. It was really just a trade to ensure Lutz landed back with his former coach. It's a decision that has to eat at Mickey Loomis to this day.
All Wil Lutz has done is embarrass the Saints since the trade
It’s fun to laugh about Payton reuniting with former Saints players in Denver, but this reunion has paid major dividends. The extension proves that. Ironically, Denver also gave former Saint Malcolm Roach a contract extension too. Maybe those reunions are much more than a funny talking point. Payton is maximizing his former Saints the same way he did in New Orleans.
As for the Lutz versus Grupe comparison, Lutz has made a higher percentage of field goals than Grupe every year. In Grupe's sophomore season, his best campaign, he made 87.1 percent of his field goals. Even in that year, he was outdone by Lutz 91.2 field goal percentage.
That rise in Grupe's second year gave hope of an ascension for his career. What we witnessed, however, was him plummeting in Year 3. His field goal percentage dropped below 70 percent, and the Saints ultimately had no choice but to let Grupe going.
The biggest problem with Grupe is he never seemed to rise to the occasion. When the pressure turned up in the fourth quarter, he seemed to shrink. The most prominent examples come with two missed game winning field goal opportunities during his rookie season. Those same issues were sprinkled through his career before missing all throughout games this season.
Lutz, on the other hand, has made three game winning field goals as time expired this season. The Saints thought Lutz was on the decline. They should have given him another year to bounce back from injury. Instead, the Saints thought it was time to go a different route, and that decision has cost them repeatedly.