ENGLEWOOD, Colo — The Denver Broncos traded for New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz on Tuesday morning.
Lutz' agent John Perla confirmed to 9NEWS Broncos Insider Mike Klis that the trade between the Saints and Broncos is done. According to a source, the Broncos traded a 2024 seventh-round pick for Lutz.
“He’s going to be reunited with Sean Payton, and he’s really looking forward to it,” Perla said.
The Broncos inherit Lutz' contract, which pays him $1.7 million this season (another $500,000 is a renogiated signing bonus which is to be paid by the Saints). Lutz will fly in Tuesday night or Wednesday morning for a physical and Broncos practice on Wednesday.
The Broncos cut kicker Brett Maher on Tuesday morning, a source told Klis.
Lutz kicked for five seasons for Payton in New Orleans from 2016-2020. His best season was 2018, when he made 28 of 30 field goals and 52 of 53 extra points. Lutz struggled through injury last year as he made just 74.2% of his field goals, although he was 33 of 33 on extra points.
"Sean knows him well,'' said Broncos' general manager George Paton. "Special teams guru Mike) Westhoff knows him well. I always played against him when I was with the Vikings. His first five years were really good—upper 80 percent (in field goals made). Then he had the injury and was down a little bit in 2022.
"In training camp, we targeted four or five teams, and targeted him. He was 4-for-4. He’s got a big leg, and he’s got the right mind. They obviously have knowledge of what he’s like, so we felt like it was the right move.
"Brett Maher did an outstanding job. I feel like he should be kicking in this league.”
Maher kicked for the Broncos during all three preseason games. While he didn't miss a kick in the final two games, his errant extra-point performance for the Cowboys in the postseason last year may have ultimately made trust an issue.
“I was there through the whole beginning with Wil,'' Payton said. "He went through a core muscle injury, much like what Riley (Moss) is going through right now. Obviously, his numbers dropped off a little bit (in 2022).
"He had a really good training camp for them. We have seen all of his kicks and we got pretty good information on how his practices went. A lot of it was a young player who we think in extremely talented. This is a place where kickers want to be with the altitude and the conditions. We’re excited about that.”
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports
9NEWS+
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.