New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton recently took a jab at his pal in Doug Pederson after signing a veteran kicker in time for their divisional-round matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Payton said that they are not going to follow in the footsteps of the Philadelphia Eagles and emulate what they did to quarterback Josh McCown in previous years, per Jeff Duncan.
"Yeah, we're not looking at the Eagles for any model." — Sean Payton, when asked if their kicker-long snapper signings this week were similar to what Philadelphia did with Josh McCown in previous years.
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) January 13, 2021
The Saints felt that they needed to have insurance in the kicker position after Will Lutz missed an early field goal against the Chicago Bears which could've further increased their lead.
Coincidentally, Lutz also missed a couple of field-goal attempts in their Week 14 tilt against the Eagles. Those misses proved to be costly as the Saints suffered a narrow 24-21 victory in the game.
In the event that Lutz's woes continue, the Saints opted to sign free agent kicker Blair Walsh to the team's practice squad. The Georgia product made it to the Pro Bowl in just his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings. Since then, he journeyed to play for the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons before landing with the Saints.
Back in August of 2019, the Eagles signed McCown after their quarterbacks went down with several injuries. He eventually went on to see action under center but tore his hamstring in the Wild Card round of the 2019 NFL Playoffs.
McCown still wanted to continue his playing career at age 41 and was eventually signed by the Eagles once again in September of 2020 to be a quarterback on their practice squad. A couple of months later, he was then signed by the Houston Texans.
Sean Payton is hoping that the signing will pay dividends as the Saints head into a tough matchup against the Buccaneers on Jan. 17.
Follow Us
Subscribe