Report: Mutual interest between Broncos and kicker Wil Lutz on a multi-year deal

The Broncos and impending free agent kicker Wil Lutz have mutual interest in a multi-year deal.

According to the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson, the Denver Broncos and impending free agent kicker Wil Lutz have mutual interest in a multi-year deal.

Lutz is coming off a pretty good season for the Broncos where he made 30-34 of his field goal attempts (88.2%) and went 29-31 on XP attempts(93.5%) but is now slated to become a free agent here in a few weeks. It makes sense that the two sides would have some mutual interest in re-signing. Head Coach Sean Payton clearly trusts his longtime kicker and Lutz had a big bounce-back year for the Broncos last year and likely would like to stick around if the price is right. Obviously, the Broncos will need to do some maneuvering with the cap to make this happen, but we should see that start to happen in the coming days and weeks.

Last summer, the Denver Broncos and Sean Payton surprised everyone when the team released longtime kicker Brandon McManus. The Super Bowl 50 winner was with the team since 2014 and became a fan favorite but Payton and the Broncos decided to go in a different direction.

They had a training camp battle between Brett Maher and Elliott Fry but neither impressed and the Broncos ended up swinging a trade for longtime Saints kicker Wil Lutz who kicked for Payton during his time with them. Meanwhile, McManus ended up taking his talents to Jacksonville as he signed with the Jaguars and became their starting kicker.

Lutz was pretty solid for the Broncos and had a bounce-back year after struggling last season with the Saints. His 88.2% field goal percentage was the third highest of his career and a bounce-back from the 74.2% he had last season with the Saints.

Of his four misses, two of them were from 50+ yards while one was in the 30-39 range and the other was in the 40-49 range. So, with that in mind, Lutz was fairly reliable for the Broncos. As for extra points, he missed two of them including a blocked XP vs. the Bills. The other came in the season finale vs. the Raiders but again, he was fairly reliable here as well.

His notable moment this season happened on a Monday Night in Buffalo in primetime. The clock was in the final seconds and ticking to zero as the field unit rushed onto the field to attempt the kick. Unfortunately, Lutz missed the first attempt but a 12th man on the field penalty against Buffalo gave him a chance at redemption and he kicked the next one right down the middle as the clock hit zero to win the game. The penalty saved him from a rough miss but this game-winner was the highlight of his season.

Having a reliable kicker is crucial for teams if they want to be successful and the Broncos found that in Lutz. Hopefully, the two sides can come to an agreement on a multi-year deal and get their kicker position settled for the next few years. With that said, what do you think Broncos Country? Do you think the Broncos should re-sign kicker Wil Lutz to a multi-year deal or look elsewhere this offseason?