Why Saints have a new kicker today, not Blake Grupe

Billy Heyen

Why Saints have a new kicker today, not Blake Grupe image

The New Orleans Saints have a new kicker on Sunday for their Week 13 game against the Miami Dolphins.

They decided to cut Blake Grupe on Tuesday. He missed two field goals a week ago, and that meant he had now missed eight total field goals on the season.

Now, New Orleans will rely on a kicker from Northern Ireland.

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Who is the Saints' new kicker?

The Saints' new kicker is Charlie Smyth.

The Northern Irishman previously played Gaelic football back home.

He joined the Saints originally as part of the NFL's International Pathways Program.

In the 2025 preseason, Smyth made all four of his field goals, including two from beyond 50 yards.

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The 24-year old has actually worked in Dallas during this season with a kicking coach, rather than stagnating behind Grupe in New Orleans.

“We didn’t want him to be here hanging out and not getting better on the practice squad,” Saints special teams coach Phil Galiano told the Associated Press. "So, that was a plan that we had put together in training camp that we had lined up for the middle of the season.”

The Saints did also add Cade York to their practice squad this week, but they chose to have Smyth kick on Sunday, not York.

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Contributing Writer