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One common response to the New Orleans Saints bringing in Justin Tucker for a tryout has been some variation of "Well you wanted a different kicker, didn't you?" And that's true. After the Saints lost to the Atlanta Falcons by two touchdowns (not helped by two missed field goals from Blake Grupe), we wrote that everyone from the coach to the kicker needs to be evaluated more closely. Bringing in competition for Grupe's job was the right move.
But that doesn't mean Tucker is the right alternative. Grupe's making just 69.2% of his field goals this year. The NFL average is 84.8%. Last year, his final season with the Baltimore Ravens, Tucker only made 73.3% of his field goals and he missed two extra points. The other kicker the Saints invited to Tuesday's group tryout, Cade York, clocked 69.2% across six games last season. Neither of them look like a viable option. And that's before you get into Tucker serving a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL personal conduct policy stemming from allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior from 16 different Baltimore-area massage therapists. He brings baggage a 2-9 team doesn't need.
This also doesn't mean that there aren't better options out there. One of them is Rodrigo Blankenship. The 28-year old put up better numbers than Grupe has this year in each of his three NFL seasons (connecting on 86.5%, 78.6%, and 80.0% of his field goals), and while he hasn't been on an NFL team since 2023, he's been on fire in the UFL spring league. Blankenship hit 21 of his 22 field goal tries with the St. Louis Battlehawks this season, his longest try traveling 56 yards. Why wasn't he invited to this tryout?
Michael Parenton works as the Saints' vice president of personnel, a role he's held since 2021, working in the team's pro personnel department for a decade before that; he's chiefly responsible for scouting future opponents, scouring the waiver wire, and keeping tabs on available free agents. But if Tucker and York were the best kickers he knew of, he may not be the right guy for this job, either -- just like Grupe and Moore.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints tryouts: Justin Tucker, Cade York are not best free agents
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But that doesn't mean Tucker is the right alternative. Grupe's making just 69.2% of his field goals this year. The NFL average is 84.8%. Last year, his final season with the Baltimore Ravens, Tucker only made 73.3% of his field goals and he missed two extra points. The other kicker the Saints invited to Tuesday's group tryout, Cade York, clocked 69.2% across six games last season. Neither of them look like a viable option. And that's before you get into Tucker serving a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL personal conduct policy stemming from allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior from 16 different Baltimore-area massage therapists. He brings baggage a 2-9 team doesn't need.
This also doesn't mean that there aren't better options out there. One of them is Rodrigo Blankenship. The 28-year old put up better numbers than Grupe has this year in each of his three NFL seasons (connecting on 86.5%, 78.6%, and 80.0% of his field goals), and while he hasn't been on an NFL team since 2023, he's been on fire in the UFL spring league. Blankenship hit 21 of his 22 field goal tries with the St. Louis Battlehawks this season, his longest try traveling 56 yards. Why wasn't he invited to this tryout?
Michael Parenton works as the Saints' vice president of personnel, a role he's held since 2021, working in the team's pro personnel department for a decade before that; he's chiefly responsible for scouting future opponents, scouring the waiver wire, and keeping tabs on available free agents. But if Tucker and York were the best kickers he knew of, he may not be the right guy for this job, either -- just like Grupe and Moore.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints tryouts: Justin Tucker, Cade York are not best free agents
Continue reading...
