The New Orleans Saints announced Tuesday that they waived veteran kicker Brett Maher, who helped bring some consistency to their kicking game after Wil Lutz missed the entire 2021 season with an injury. After undergoing surgery and starting the season on injured reserve, he suffered a setback and was ruled out for the year in October.
New Orleans then cycled through Aldrick Rosas, Cody Parkey and Brian Johnson to help stem the tide. However, they were less than impressive for the Saints. The three kickers went a combined 9-for-12 on field goal attempts and connected on 21 of 26 extra point tries before New Orleans brought in Maher. The Nebraska native finished the season by converting 16 of his 18 field goal tries with a long of 42-yards. He was 10-for-12 on extra point attempts.
However, Lutz is expected to be ready for the start of the 2022 season so Maher won’t factor into their plans. He was on track to be a restricted free agent in March, and by releasing him the Saints are giving him a head start on catching onto a new team. As for the other kickers they worked with in 2021: Rosas is currently with the Detroit Lions and Johnson landed with the Washington Commanders, while Parkey is out of the NFL.
