One of the league’s most reliable kickers won’t be available at the start of the season. Wil Lutz says he’s undergoing surgery to correct a groin injury.
“Unfortunately, I found out that my training camp will be cut short due to an injury that had progressively worsened,” Lutz posted on Instagram. “After talking with our excellent medical team and training staff, as well as a second opinion from a specialist, we’ve decided it’s in our best interest to get this fixed now in order to miss the least amount of time possible.”
We’ve had a modest grade on Lutz all along. We had him 10th at his position yesterday, before he broke the news on his decision to undergo surgery. With the Saints losing Drew Brees and having salary cap problems, that looks like a team that will drop a few notches, with him getting fewer scoring opportunities.
There’s no official timetable for Lutz’s return, but various reports suggest he could miss the first month or two of the season. With him not looking as compelling this year as he has in the past anyway, he shouldn’t be selected in drafts at this point.
The Saints don’t currently have a kicker on their active roster, but no doubt they’re looking at options. If they want to go the veteran route, Stephen Gostkowski, Aldrick Rosas and Dan Bailey, among others, are available. Rosas has converted 10 of 13 kicks from 50-plus over the last year, one of the best rates in the league.
And at the kicker position, there’s always the potential to uncover some unheralded nobody. Lutz was one of those guys in 2016 – undrafted coming out of Georgia State.
Lutz has been a steady scorer in recent seasons. In the last five years, only 32 kickers have had seasons with at least 130 kicking points. Lutz is one of only two kickers who’s accounted for four of those seasons. (The other is Justin Tucker, who’s gone for 130-plus in all five of those years.)
Lutz had the worst season of his career last year, converting a career-low 82 percent of his field goals and scoring a career-worst 126 points. The previous season, he made the Pro Bowl.
| 130 KICKING POINTS (last 5 years) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | XP-A | FG-A | Pts |
| 2017 | Greg Zuerlein, LAR | 44-46 | 38-40 | 158 |
| 2016 | Matt Bryant, Atl. | 56-57 | 34-37 | 158 |
| 2017 | Stephen Gostkowski, N.E. | 45-47 | 37-40 | 156 |
| 2018 | Ka'imi Fairbairn, Hou. | 39-41 | 37-42 | 150 |
| 2019 | Harrison Butker, K.C. | 45-48 | 34-38 | 147 |
| 2017 | Robbie Gould, S.F. | 28-30 | 39-41 | 145 |
| 2020 | Daniel Carlson, L.V. | 45-47 | 33-35 | 144 |
| 2020 | Jason Sanders, Mia. | 36-36 | 36-39 | 144 |
| 2019 | Wil Lutz, N.O. | 48-49 | 32-36 | 144 |
| 2020 | Younghoe Koo, Atl. | 33-36 | 37-39 | 144 |
| 2017 | Chris Boswell, Pitt. | 37-39 | 35-38 | 142 |
| 2017 | Harrison Butker, K.C. | 28-28 | 38-42 | 142 |
| 2019 | Justin Tucker, Balt. | 57-59 | 28-29 | 141 |
| 2018 | Justin Tucker, Balt. | 36-37 | 35-39 | 141 |
| 2017 | Justin Tucker, Balt. | 39-39 | 34-37 | 141 |
| 2016 | Justin Tucker, Balt. | 27-27 | 38-39 | 141 |
| 2020 | Tyler Bass, Buff. | 57-59 | 28-34 | 141 |
| 2017 | Wil Lutz, N.O. | 47-50 | 31-36 | 140 |
| 2020 | Rodrigo Blankenship, Ind. | 43-45 | 32-37 | 139 |
| 2016 | Dustin Hopkins, Wash. | 36-39 | 34-42 | 138 |
| 2018 | Harrison Butker, K.C. | 65-69 | 24-27 | 137 |
| 2017 | Matt Bryant, Atl. | 35-35 | 34-39 | 137 |
| 2020 | Ryan Succop, T.B. | 52-57 | 28-31 | 136 |
| 2017 | Ryan Succop, Tenn. | 31-33 | 35-42 | 136 |
| 2018 | Wil Lutz, N.O. | 52-53 | 28-30 | 136 |
| 2016 | Caleb Sturgis, Phil. | 30-31 | 35-41 | 135 |
| 2020 | Greg Zuerlein, Dall. | 33-36 | 34-41 | 135 |
| 2016 | Wil Lutz, N.O. | 49-50 | 28-34 | 133 |
| 2020 | Justin Tucker, Balt. | 52-53 | 26-29 | 130 |
| 2017 | Kai Forbath, Minn. | 34-39 | 32-38 | 130 |
| 2017 | Matt Prater, Det. | 40-41 | 30-35 | 130 |
| 2018 | Stephen Gostkowski, N.E. | 49-50 | 27-32 | 130 |
Lutz has kicked 142 field goals over the last five years, tying for 2nd-most in the league. And he’s converted almost 87 percent of his attempts. That ranks 9th among the 39 kickers who’ve attempted at least 50 field goals since 2016.
| FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE (last 5 years) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | FG | FGA | Pct |
| Justin Tucker | 161 | 173 | 93.1% |
| Josh Lambo | 102 | 112 | 91.1% |
| Harrison Butker | 121 | 134 | 90.3% |
| Graham Gano | 104 | 116 | 89.7% |
| Robbie Gould | 124 | 139 | 89.2% |
| Kai Forbath | 64 | 72 | 88.9% |
| Younghoe Koo | 63 | 71 | 88.7% |
| Matt Bryant | 97 | 111 | 87.4% |
| Chris Boswell | 117 | 134 | 87.3% |
| Wil Lutz | 142 | 164 | 86.6% |
| Jason Sanders | 77 | 89 | 86.5% |
| Mason Crosby | 109 | 126 | 86.5% |
| Jason Myers | 118 | 137 | 86.1% |
| Randy Bullock | 93 | 109 | 85.3% |
| Greg Zuerlein | 142 | 167 | 85.0% |
| Ka'imi Fairbairn | 104 | 123 | 84.6% |
| Ryan Succop | 112 | 133 | 84.2% |
| Daniel Carlson | 69 | 82 | 84.1% |
| Stephen Gostkowski | 116 | 138 | 84.1% |
| Matt Prater | 136 | 162 | 84.0% |
| Nick Folk | 73 | 87 | 83.9% |
| Cairo Santos | 83 | 99 | 83.8% |
| Cody Parkey | 86 | 103 | 83.5% |
| Dustin Hopkins | 126 | 152 | 82.9% |
| Stephen Hauschka | 106 | 128 | 82.8% |
| Caleb Sturgis | 47 | 57 | 82.5% |
| Sebastian Janikowski | 51 | 62 | 82.3% |
| Jake Elliott | 88 | 107 | 82.2% |
| Adam Vinatieri | 96 | 117 | 82.1% |
| Brandon McManus | 130 | 159 | 81.8% |
| Nick Novak | 44 | 54 | 81.5% |
| Aldrick Rosas | 70 | 86 | 81.4% |
| Mike Nugent | 52 | 64 | 81.3% |
| Matt Gay | 41 | 51 | 80.4% |
| Dan Bailey | 105 | 131 | 80.2% |
| Michael Badgley | 52 | 65 | 80.0% |
| Phil Dawson | 55 | 69 | 79.7% |
| Chandler Catanzaro | 62 | 78 | 79.5% |
| Joey Slye | 54 | 68 | 79.4% |
| Zane Gonzalez | 71 | 91 | 78.0% |
| Brett Maher | 49 | 66 | 74.2% |
—Ian Allan