The New Orleans Saints have made a decision on their next kicker -- or at least the first shot at the job -- and his name is Charlie Smyth.
The Saints elevated Smyth from the practice squad on Saturday, the first of three such elevations that can be executed per player each season. The team opted to keep both Cade York and Smyth on the practice squad as they competed for the job this week.
Smyth has been kicking regularly throughout the season, but not in a game setting with a pass rush.
"I think making sure that he is ready for that experience of where we’re at right now is why we wanted to have him part of the workout and why we wanted to bring another guy in here and just to give us an option," special teams coordinator Phil Galiano said this week, "but I’m proud of where he’s at and I think this is a great experience for him and I think that it’s been very benefical this past couple days for him.”
Galiano went on to add: “I thought he did excellent. I was really proud of him.”
The Saints also elevated WR Dante Pettis, who has been serving as the team's punt returner since the trade of WR Rashid Shaheed.
Saints head coach Kellen Moore opted not to announce the decision during his Friday press conference, instead opting for the callup announcement to serve that purpose. York went through a workout on Tuesday, alongside veteran Justin Tucker, and had an excellent session of kicking, with the team signing him the following day. York and Smyth then had the bulk of their competition on Thursday with the full operation. The competition day also included kickoffs.
The Saints were in need of a new kicker after opting to waive Blake Grupe amid his continued struggles. Grupe, who has been the starting kicker for the past three years and was one of the team's captains, missed two kicks in the loss to the Giants (38 and 47 yards). The misses brought Grupe's total to eight on the season, a career high. Grupe expressed frustration and contwo fusion with how the season spiraled away from him so quickly after missing just one kick in training camp, but told me he's excited for the next opportunity, wherever that may come.
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The next opportunity in New Orleans will land on the foot of Smyth, at least for now. He'll revert back to the practice squad after the game, meaning they could potentially go with York in Week 14 based on the performance against the Dolphins.
“I feel like whenever I get in the game, that’s whenever I perform the best," Smyth said. "Whenever there’s a sense of adrenaline and you’re able to control, you know, your mind and your swing thoughts and whatever, just your process. So I felt really comfortable when I got into the games like, I remember last year as well, my first kick was a big one for me, personally, and then it just carried over to the games this year, so I feel like that’s an environment where I can calm myself.”
The moment is a monumental one for Smyth, who arrived with the Saints through the International Pathway Program a season ago and only a few months removed from kicking a football for the first time. The native of Ireland camp up playing Gaelic Football and spent time as a primary school teacher before getting his opportunity in the NFL.
Galiano said the 2024 season for Smyth was truly "developmental." The team was working to mold him into an NFL kicker, a process that took some time. There was work with tape, there was film to analyze his footwork and make sure he had the same approach each time. He was also sent to Dallas to work with a private coach midway through this year, a plan hatched in training camp to make sure he got 1-on-1 time with kicking experts, of which the Saints don't really have on staff.
“The difference now to then is like the difference between red and blue, to be honest with you. ... There’s so many technical things that go into it that would be boring and most people don’t understand, but him just having to figure out how to walk the ball off the right way and his steps to his approach was a really big deal," Galiano said. "It’s something that, you know, he’s got down where we want it now, but when he first got here it was never the same, he was stepping under himself, it was kind of rounded, but he just didn’t have any cumulative reps and didn’t know any better.”
Smyth has competed with Grupe in camp each of the past two seasons and has an incredibly strong leg, casually reaching the uprights on kicks from 60-plus during practice sessions. The questions for him will come closer to the goalposts, with misses from 40 and in taking most of the intrigue out of this year's camp battle. Smyth did have a strong finish to camp after the shaky start and has made all of his kicks attempted in preseason games. His first attempt this week will mark his first ever kick in regular season game at any level.
The 24-year-old said he's felt strong support from friends and family back home, where it will be 7 p.m. when the game kicks off in Miami.
“Everybody at home, especially when I got signed last year the support was unbelievable and that has carried through," Smyth said. "It’s maybe quieted down because you’re not playing every week but you know, like, now people are like, oh, Charlie could be in this week or whatever and, you know, the support has been unreal. … So hopefully I can go out and represent everybody else at home as well, so I take great pride in that.”
Smyth's opportunity will come on the road Sunday when the Saints (2-9) travel to face the Dolphins (4-7) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.