WIL LUTZ NEWS

Length of Saints' displacement uncertain as Week 1 begins

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton says the club expects the Dallas area and TCU practice facilities to serve as their home base into Week 2 of the NFL season

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Goes to IR The Saints placed Lutz (core) on injured reserve Monday, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Impact After undergoing core muscle surgery in early August, Lutz was expected to need 8-to-12 weeks to recover, meaning a move to IR was inevitable. While he can return as early as Week 4 against the Giants, his best-case scenario actually may be Week 5 at Washington. At the moment, the Saints don't have a kicker on the active roster, so they may be getting ready to elevate Aldrick Rosas from the practice squad on a weekly basis until Lutz is back in action.

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Saints enter 2021 with plenty of uncertainty, and intrigue

There’ll be no shortage of intrigue surrounding the New Orleans Saints' first season in 15 years without all-time leading passer Drew Brees

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Saints cut Amukamara, waive Maher among several roster moves

Saints coach Sean Payton says the Saints have cut cornerback Prince Amukamara and waived kicker Brett Maher with an injury designation

AUGUST 17, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Saints kicker Lutz having surgery on core muscle injury Saints kicker Wil Lutz has scheduled surgery to a repair a core muscle injury and it’s not clear if he’ll return in time for the regular sea...

AUGUST 10, 2021 • SACBEE.COM

Wil Lutz out with core muscle surgery, New Orleans Saints will add kicker to training camp roster 'Rather than wait, we're going to go ahead and have that (surgery) done right away'

AUGUST 9, 2021 • NEWORLEANSSAINTS.COM

Saints kicker Lutz having surgery for core muscle injury

New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz has scheduled surgery to a repair a core muscle injury and it’s not clear if he’ll return in time for the regular season

AUGUST 9, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Undergoing core muscle surgery Lutz will have core muscle surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Impact Previous reports hinted at a recovery timeline of 8-12 weeks, essentially ruling Lutz out through September. He played all 16 games in each of his first five NFL seasons, and the Saints haven't been carrying another kicker at training camp. They'll likely look at a bunch of kickers in the coming days.

AUGUST 9, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Rapoport: Wil Lutz could be out 'several months' with core muscle injury NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports on the injury status of New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz.

AUGUST 9, 2021 • NFL.COM

Could be out 8-12 weeks Lutz suffered a core muscle injury during Saturday's practice, and he now may need a surgery that would lead to an absence of eight weeks or longer, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network rep...

Impact Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune suggests the recovery timeline could be closer to 12 weeks, with Lutz needing longer than most players because he's a specialist. He played every game in each of his first five NFL seasons, but with the reliable 27-year-old now in danger of missing the first half of the upcoming campaign, the Saints figure to look at multiple free-agent kickers.

AUGUST 9, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Cleared for practice Lutz (groin) was removed from the non-football injury list for Wednesday's practice, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Impact The Saints never expected Lutz to miss much time and didn't even bother signing another kicker. The end of the Drews Brees era comes with some uncertainty, but Lutz is still a viable option at the end of fantasy drafts, as he's an accurate kicker who plays home games in a dome for what should be a competitive team.

AUGUST 4, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Heading to NFI list The Saints have placed Lutz on the non-football injury list with a "soft tissue" issue, Luke Johnson of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Impact GM Mickey Loomis relayed that he expects Lutz to have a "pretty quick" recovery, meaning he may not miss many practice reps at the beginning of training camp. And with more than two weeks until New Orleans' first preseason game, Lutz has a good chance to miss no exhibition action whatsoever.

JULY 28, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

New Orleans Saints: Wil Lutz is one of the best kickers in the NFL The New Orleans Saints know how lucky they are to have Wil Lutz as their kicker. Lutz joined the Saints in 2017 after he went undrafted out...

JUNE 26, 2021 • WHODATDISH.COM

Agrees to restructure Lutz agreed to re-work his contract with the Saints on Thursday, Luke Johnson of NOLA.com reports.

Impact The Saints will reportedly save $1.7 million in cap space by spreading some of the money owed to Lutz into future years. Lutz wrapped up 2020 with a career-worst 82.1 field goal percentage, which sets 2021 up to be a pivotal year for him.

MARCH 4, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Perfect in divisional-round loss Lutz connected on both of his field-goal attempts and both of his extra-point attempts in the Saints' 30-20 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Impact Lutz ended the season on a high note, nailing all four of his attempts in the 10-point loss. After a down year in terms of accuracy, the Saints' kicker will look to improve in 2021 when he returns to New Orleans for his sixth season.

JANUARY 18, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Health of key Saints players trending up at the right time

Saints quarterback Drew Brees likes the way the health of the roster is trending at the most crucial time of year

JANUARY 12, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Misses field goal in Sunday's win Lutz missed his only field-goal attempt and made all three of his extra-point attempts in the Saints' 21-9 win over the Bears on Sunday.

Impact After an uncharacteristically inaccurate season, Lutz did little to allay concerns about his leg in Sunday's victory, failing to connect on his lone field-goal attempt of the afternoon. He'll need to be at his best in next week's NFC divisional matchup with the Buccaneers.

JANUARY 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

The Latest: Browns open 28-0 lead over Steelers

The Cleveland Browns are off to a record-setting start in Pittsburgh

JANUARY 10, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bears not sweating how they reached postseason

The Chicago Bears aren't worrying about how they made the playoffs

JANUARY 4, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Makes two field goals Lutz converted both of his field-goal attempts and three of four extra-point attempts the Saints' 33-7 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

Impact He had a down year in 2020, and his 82 percent conversion rate on field-goal attempts matches the lowest mark of his career, set in his rookie season. Lutz's field-goal attempts were a career-low 28 thanks to the uber-efficient Saints offense, but he missed five of those tries. The young kicker will look to bounce back in 2021.

JANUARY 4, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Scores 10 in Week 16 win Lutz connected on all seven of his extra-point attempts and his lone field-goal attempt in the Saints' 52-33 win over the Vikings on Friday.

Impact The Saints' kicker attempted just one field goal, but the team's seven rushing touchdowns were fruitful for him, as he knocked in all seven extra points. Lutz gets Carolina in Week 17.

DECEMBER 26, 2020 • ROTOWIRE

Nails three extra points Lutz made all three of his extra-point attempts in the Saints' 32-29 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday.

Impact Lutz had another disappointing game, though this week it was due to a lack of opportunity and not two missed field goals. Lutz has been tough to trust for fantasy purposes in recent weeks, but he'll get a solid draw with Minnesota in Week 16.

DECEMBER 21, 2020 • ROTOWIRE

Saints' Payton cites failures in "all phases" in Philly loss

The good news for the New Orleans Saints is that an unusually poor performance by their defensive front came against a quarterback who is an uncommonly good scrambler

DECEMBER 14, 2020 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Inaccuracies continue Lutz failed to convert either of his field-goal attempts but made all three of his extra-point attempts in the Saints' 24-21 loss to the Eagles on Sunday.

Impact The typically accurate kicker had a disastrous performance Sunday, leaving six points on the table in a game the Saints lost by just a field goal. This marks the first time all season Lutz has missed a kick in back-to-back weeks, and he'll look to bounce back in an important Week 15 showdown with Kansas City.

DECEMBER 14, 2020 • ROTOWIRE

Saints sunken by 'flat' half and play call Payton wants back

Saints coach Sean Payton says  he'll “want back” an aggressive passing play he made on a failed fourth-and-2 that seemed to sap New Orleans' momentum during a stunning setback in P...

DECEMBER 14, 2020 • ASSOCIATED PRESS