Broncos acquire kicker Wil Lutz from Saints to replace Brett Maher, trade tight end Albert Okwuegbunam to Eagles

Just like that the Broncos have a new kicker. Denver on Tuesday traded a 2024 conditional seventh-round pick to New Orleans for Wil Lutz. Lutz will be reunited with Broncos coach Sean Payton, his former coach with the Saints.

To make room for Lutz, the Broncos waived kicker Brett Maher. Teams had to get rosters down from the 90-man offseason limit to the 53-man regular-season number on Tuesday. The Broncos also Tuesday traded tight end Albert Okwuegbunam to Philadelphia with a 2025 conditional seventh-round pick for a 2025 conditional sixth-round selection.

Lutz, 29, played for the Saints from 2016-22, which included missing 2021 due to a core muscle injury. He was the kicker for Payton in New Orleans from 2016-20 and made the Pro Bowl in 2019. But he lost his job this season to rookie Blake Grupe.

“I think (Lutz) will fit in fine,'' Payton said. "At the beginning of the whole process, he was a target for us. .

. . He had a really good training camp for them.

We have seen all of his kicks and we got pretty good information on how his practices went. A lot of it was a young player who we think is extremely talented. This is a place where kickers want to be with the altitude and the conditions.

We’re excited about that. . .

. He’s kicked in big games and he’s got a strong leg. ” Lutz was one of the NFL’s top kickers when Payton had him in New Orleans before he slipped in 2022 following his return from injury.

He made 23 of 31 field goals for 74. 2 percent in 2022 after he had kicked at an 86. 6 percent clip in his first five seasons.

Payton said Lutz's "numbers dropped off a little bit" but that now he is fully healthy. His agent, John Perla, expects he will have a good season with Denver. “He’s very excited," Perla told The Denver Gazette.

"I think he’s going to have a Pro Bowl-caliber season. He’s always had a great relationship with Sean. I think there’s no stopping him.

He feels so good mentally and physically. I think (the trade is) going to rejuvenate him. " Lutz has a $1.

7 million salary-cap number with the Broncos and the Saints incur $2. 42 million of dead money by trading him. Grupe has a cap number of $750,833.

"He didn't lose his job,'' Perla said of Lutz. "The Saints just made a poor decision. The better player is not the one who is left on the Saints' roster, I'll tell you that.

" Perla said five teams expressed interest in trading for Lutz. The others were Dallas, Tennessee, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams. Game analysis and insights from The Gazette sports staff including columns by Woody Paige and Paul Klee.

Maher had a top-notch regular season for the Cowboys in 2022 before missing 5 of 6 extra-point attempts in the playoffs. He signed a minimum contract with the Broncos in July before missing his first two field-goal attempts in the preseason opener. But he bounced back to make all four of his field-goal attempts and all seven of his extra points in the next two exhibition games.

Lutz is the third kicker the Broncos have had since they released Brandon McManus in May after nine seasons. McManus’ initial replacement was Elliott Fry, who was waived earlier this month with an injury designation. Broncos general manager George Paton said Maher did “an outstanding job” but that getting Lutz was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

He made note of Denver assistant head coach Mike Westhoff also having worked with Lutz when he was with the Saints’ special teams coach from 2017-18. “In training camp, we targeted four or five teams (with kicking battles) and targeted him,'' Paton said. "He was 4 for 4 (in the preseason).

He’s got a big leg, and he’s got the right mind. (Payton and Westhoff) obviously have knowledge of what he’s like, so we felt like it was the right move. " Lutz made a 60-yard field goal against Minnesota last year in London.

Perla shrugged off what the altitude might mean for him in Denver. “He can kick a 60-yard field goal in London or he can kick it in any stadium in the United States,” Perla said. Denver’s other deal came just before rosters had to be cut to 53 at 2 p.

m. Tuesday. The Broncos had informed Okwuegbunam earlier in the day he would be waived.

But they later were able to slightly improve their draft position in 2025 by sending him to the Eagles. “Teams like Philly aren’t in a (good waiver) claiming position that they would be able to get the player, so they go ahead and make a trade for the player,’’ Payton said. The Broncos showcased Okwuegbunam in the 41-0 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason finale last Saturday over the Los Angeles Rams, and he caught nine passes for 107 yards while playing nearly the entire game.

But Denver ended up keeping undrafted rookie Nate Adkins, a much better blocker, over Okwuegbunam as a fourth tight end. The others are Adam Trautman, Greg Dulcich and Chris Manhertz. “I don’t think it was Adkins versus Albert 'O,'’’ Payton said.

“We have four tight ends we really like and they all fit exactly what we’re doing. ” The Broncos also hope they finally have found a kicker to fit what they want. .