Having included Brett Maher in their recent cuts, the Saints continue to search for Wil Lutz replacement options. They are working out a former Pro Bowler.
Aldrick Rosas auditioned for the Saints on Thursday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via Twitter). A 2018 Pro Bowler with the Giants, Rosas has been unattached since the Jaguars cut him late last month. The Saints also worked out kickers Alex Kessman and Dominik Eberle.
Rosas, 26, is the only one of these three with NFL experience. Kessman kicked at Pitt, while Eberle played at Utah State.
The Giants placed a second-round RFA tender on Rosas last year but cut him soon after the young specialist was arrested following a hit-and-run incident. After serving a four-game suspension, Rosas landed in Jacksonville and kicked in six Jags games. The Southern Oregon product’s 2018 season, when he made 97% of his field goal tries (32-for-33), has thus far been an aberration. Rosas did not clear the 73% barrier in his other three seasons.
The Saints signed Maher last week but waived him days later; Maher sustained an injury in the Saints’ first preseason game. Lutz is expected to miss extensive time due to a groin injury, forcing New Orleans to search for a kicker for the first time in five years.
If he can get it back together, this will be a good move. He was so good in 2018, practically automatic. But he hasn’t been able to hit the broad side of a barn since, and can barely make a kick beyond 40 yards anymore. Even his XPs are shaky.
I think the Saints would be better off scouting Palomar College for another Tom Dempsey.
R.I.P., Tom Dempsey, 1947-2020, died of complications from COVID-19 seven years after revealing that he was suffering from dementia.