Saints' Blake Grupe: Converts 30 field goals and 40 PATs
Rotowire
Grupe knocked through 30 of 37 field-goal attempts and all 40 of his point-after-tries in 17 games during the 2023 season.
Grupe hit two field-goal tries and all six PATs during the Saints' regular-season finale, thus wrapping up his rookie campaign with six straight made field goals. The undrafted product out of Notre Dame won New Orleans' starting kicker job over veteran Wil Lutz this preseason, and, while the rookie was far from perfect, he made a solid impression with 70 total kicking conversions. He also went 16-for-18 on field-goal tries of 39 yards or less. Grupe will look to improve his consistency as a long-range kicker during the 2024 season.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Perfect in Week 17 win
Rotowire
Grupe converted on 3-for-3 field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 point-after tries during Sunday's 23-13 victory over Tampa Bay.
Grupe made a significant impact for the first time since the Week 12 loss to Atlanta. The rookie out of Notre Dame went just 1-for-2 on field-goal tries over the previous four contests, but he converted three field goals of 28 to 45 yards Week 17. Grupe also remained perfect on his 33rd and 34th PATs of the season, and he has now converted 28 of 35 field-goal tries over the first 16 games of his career. He'll look to finish his rookie season strong when the Saints vie for a potential playoff spot with a Week 18 win versus Atlanta.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Makes two PATs in loss
Rotowire
Grupe was 2-for-2 on point-after tries during Thursday's 30-22 defeat versus the Rams.
Grupe did not have much on his shoulders Week 16, as the Saints crossed into the red zone only once during Thursday's loss. New Orleans also fell behind 17-7 at halftime, and this ballooned out to a 30-7 deficit early in the fourth quarter. These combined factors likely affected Grupe's chances for any field-goal tries. The undrafted rookie has now gone a perfect 32-for-32 on PATs this season. He'll look for more field-goal opportunities during the Week 17 divisional matchup versus Tampa Bay.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Hits 50-yarder in win
Rotowire
Grupe made his only field goal attempt and all three of his extra-point tries during Sunday's 24-6 win against the Giants.
Grupe converted a 50-yard field goal try to put the Saints up 17-6 late in the third quarter. This marked the rookie's sixth made field goal of 50-plus yards this season, and he's now gone 3-for-6 from this range over the past nine games. Across 14 contests this season, Grupe has converted 25 of 32 field-goal tries while also knocking through all 30 of PATs. He'll look to finish strong over the final three games of the year, starting with this Thursday's matchup versus the Rams.
Grupe missed his only field goal attempt but made all four of his extra-point tries during Sunday's 28-6 win versus the Panthers.
Grupe went wide left on his lone field-goal attempt Sunday, marking his first miss within 29 yards or less this season. The undrafted rookie is now 24-for-31 on field-goal attempts this season, and he's gone 0-for-1 over the past two weeks. However, he did remain perfect on his point-after-tries, as he's now converted all 27 of his PATs this season. Grupe has also been dealing with a lingering groin issue that kept him questionable leading up Sunday morning. He'll look to overcome this issue once again when the Saints next play versus the Giants on Sunday, Dec. 17.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Will play Week 14
Rotowire
Grupe (groin) is active for Sunday's game against Carolina.
Grupe has been dealing with a groin injury over the past two weeks, but his ability to log a full practice all three days during Week 14 prep was a good indication that he'd be able to suit up. The rookie kicker knocked five field goals Week 12 against Atlanta, but his opportunities have otherwise been limited of late, as he's converted one or zero field goals in four of his past five contests.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Active for Week 13
Rotowire
Grupe (groin) is active for Sunday's matchup against the Lions.
Grupe was a limited participant at all three practices during Week 13 prep and was given a questionable designation, but the Saints didn't elevate Austin Seibert on Saturday, suggesting Grupe would be cleared to play. Grupe made five of six field-goal attempts versus Atlanta last week, and his lone miss came on a 54-yard try with just under 30 seconds remaining in the game. The rookie has made 24 of his first 30 field-goal attempts, with all six misses coming from beyond 40 yards.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Questionable for Sunday vs. Lions
Rotowire
Grupe (groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game versus the Lions, Matthew Paras of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Grupe was a limited participant at all three of New Orleans' practices this week, so there's no strong indication of his availability one way or the other at this point. If he sits out his first game this season, the Saints could opt to elevate Austin Seibert from their practice squad to their active roster Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Remains limited Thursday
Rotowire
Grupe (groin) practiced in a limited capacity Thursday, Brooke Kirchhofer of NewOrleans.Football reports.
While Grupe has had practice restrictions so far this week due to a right groin injury, special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi told Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com on Thursday that he believes the kicker will be available Sunday versus the Lions. Still, Grupe may enter the weekend with a designation for that contest, which will become known when the Saints post their final Week 13 practice report Friday.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Limited in practice Wednesday
Rotowire
Grupe was a limited practice participant Wednesday due to a right groin injury, Matthew Paras of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Grupe is tending to the injury after he connected on five of six field-goal tries in this past Sunday's 24-15 loss to the Falcons. The Saints signed Austin Seibert to their practice squad Monday, and he'll likely serve as the team's kicker this Sunday against the Lions if there's any concern about Grupe's ability to kick effectively with the injury this weekend.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Logs one field-goal try Week 10
Rotowire
Grupe converted his only field-goal attempt during Sunday's 27-19 loss to Minnesota.
Grupe got the Saints on the board by making a 48-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter, but he never saw another opportunity to put the ball through the uprights, as New Orleans attempted two-point conversions on each of their touchdowns while trailing in the second half. Grupe has now gone 19-for-24 on field-goal tries while converting all 19 of his PATs. The rookie could have more opportunities in the Saints' Week 12 matchup against the Falcons following a Week 11 bye.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Perfect in Week 8 win
Rotowire
Grupe made his only field-goal attempt and all five of his extra-point tries during Sunday's 38-27 victory versus Indianapolis.
Grupe didn't see any difficult kicking attempts, as his lone field-goal try came from just 27 yards out to extend the lead to 38-27 in the final minute. The undrafted rookie missed three of his eight field-goal attempts over the previous two contests, so it's not to say that he's completely out of the woods yet. Grupe has now gone 17-for-21 on field-goal attempts while hitting all 16 of his PATs through eight games.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Kicker to Start
Rotowire
The Colts are No. 2 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing kickers, and four kickers in a row (Brett Maher, Nick Folk, Brandon McManus and Dustin Hopkins) have scored at least 10 Fantasy points, with all four making at least three field goals. Grupe has three missed field goals in his past two games, but he's scored at least 10 Fantasy points in three of his past four outings. I like him as a No. 1 Fantasy kicker in all leagues for Week 8.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Misses again Week 7
Rotowire
Grupe went 3-for-4 on field-goal attempts and 1-for-1 on point-after tries during Thursday's 31-24 loss to Jacksonville.
Grupe missed a 51-yard attempt on the Saints' first offensive drive, marking the second game in a row that he's missed a field goal after going 11-for-12 on field-goal tries over the first five weeks of the season. The undrafted rookie bounced back with three straight made field goals on attempts of 23, 35 and 42 yards over the remainder of Thursday night's loss. New Orleans' lack of touchdowns this season has yielded Grupe just 11 extra-point tries over the first seven games of the season. However, the team's lack of red-zone efficiency has contributed to the kicker's 20 field-goal attempts over this span. Grupe will look to get back to being perfect when New Orleans faces the Colts on Sunday, Oct. 29.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Kicker to Start
Rotowire
Grupe has scored at least 10 Fantasy points in three of five games this season, and he's coming off his best game of the year in Week 5 at New England with two made field goals of 50-plus yards, along with four PATs. The Texans have allowed Chris Boswell and Younghoe Koo to each make multiple field goals in the past two games, and Grupe is worth using as a No. 1 Fantasy kicker in Week 6 on the road.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Hits all four attempts Week 2
Rotowire
Grupe went 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 on point-after tries during Monday's 20-17 win over the Panthers.
Grupe remained perfect through the second game of his career. The undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame hit field-goal tries of 28 and 23 yards in the first and third quarters, respectively, thus keeping the Saints ahead 6-3 heading into halftime. Grupe will look to keep up this strong start when the Saints welcome the Packers to New Orleans in Week 3.
... See More... See Less
Saints' Blake Grupe: Perfect in debut
Rotowire
Grupe made all three of his field-goal tries and his only extra-point attempt in a 16-15 victory over the Titans on Sunday.
Grupe's debut was a success, and his accuracy was ultimately crucial in the team's one-point victory. The Notre Dame product won the team's kicker job as an undrafted free agent and didn't disappoint Sunday. He hit field goals from 26 and 33 yards out before drilling a 52-yarder to tie the game at 9-9 in the third quarter. He'll look to stay perfect in a Week 2 Monday night matchup against the Panthers.
