Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Preaching to the Choir & Kmajor

No one will quite compare with New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz. But Baltimore Ravens’ Jake Verity is still available, and he should be quickly claimed as a temporary fix to the Saints’ current kicker problem.

We know they have Aldrick Rosas. We also know he missed 52-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 36-yarder in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.

The Saints would go on to easily win the game, but at the time, New Orleans were only up 7-0, and Rosas’ missed kick could have potentially changed the momentum.

The 52-yarder, we can excuse. Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick called a timeout with seconds left in the first quarter to force New Orleans to kick into the open, windier end of the stadium. Rosas’ kick swerved left and missed the goal posts, and it’s tough to say whether that was a stroke of Belichick ingenuity or just Rosas’ poor technique.

The missed 36-yarder, we have a problem with. The Saints need to convert on every opportunity they get, and so far, Rosas just isn’t cutting it.
Having a good kicker on your team can win you games. Just ask Justin Tucker. The Saints might think they have to settle with Rosas in Wil Lutz’s absence, but they don’t. Baltimore Ravens kicker Jake Verity was waived in early September, and this is New Orleans’ chance to solidify their kicker situation.

Verity won’t replace Lutz, that much is for sure. Currently, though, Verity won’t see any minutes due to Tucker’s G.O.A.T. form. Even if the Saints were to bring him on for a short stretch of the season, Verity would (temporarily) get the No. 1 kicker duties he deserves.

Verity, a formerly undrafted free agent, had an impressive preseason this year, completing four-of-five field goal attempts, including one 53-yarder.

An added bonus: history may be on New Orleans’ side. The Saints signed Lutz after he was waived by the Ravens in 2016, so why not dip another toe into the alluring Ravens kicker pool?

The Saints may have originally bet on Rosas for his veteran experience, but that bet may cost them games later in the season. Verity is only 23-years-old, yet he already possesses the consistency and confidence of a more much seasoned kicker.
We’re surprised Verity hasn’t found a new home yet, but that just means New Orleans have a great opportunity to bring on the answer to their recent kicker woes. This is a low-risk, high-reward pick-up that the Saints need to take.
Source: Fansided

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Make it happen, Loomis.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Could we sign Verity and then send him down to the practice squad once Lutz is healthy?

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Maybe... is Verity better than Lutz?

There is reason Baltimore kept him on the PS, even with the now 66 yard record holder Tucker on the roster.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Lutz suffered a core muscle injury and had surgery, how long does it take him to recover and will he have the same strength and accuracy.
I would think we go for the insurance policy and sign Verity.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Pay da man! :p

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

All depends on if the team can afford it and if they want to deal with a kicker controversy when Lutz comes back.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

We've done well with Ravens kickers so far. I like him as a kicker. He's got excellent form on his kicks.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Heck, let Taysom handle kicks. All he needs is a couple of practices and will be good to go.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Sean Payton is stubborn. Rosas cost the Saints at least 10 points over the last two weeks of football.

He'll likely roll with Cody (19/22 last season) until Lutz is fully healthy.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Placing this here, as well.

One more note on the PK Verity. I remember hearing the former Bucs GM, Mark Dominik, talking about the importance of maintaining good relations with fellow GM's around the league. It had to do with snatching players either while being released for an in season move to the practice squad or signing off of the practice squad. While it is well within the rules it could hamper future dealings with the other team's management. He said something about weighing the benefits against the clear drawback.

That got me thinking about the situation with Verity. Practice squad players hold more value to a team than does a free agent, of course. They likely have a greater value to most other teams, as well. This coupled with a rule that requires paying three weeks of the players salary if claimed off of another team's practice squad, regardless of whether they remain on the acquiring team's roster for less time than that or not, could be problematic. This would render a practice squad player a poor candidate for a very short term active roster pickup. First off you would be burning a minimum of three times the rookie base salary for a single week's usage against your cap. Secondly, you can be assured that any move to demote the player to your own practice squad to get future value would fail as they would surely be snatched back up by some other club via waivers for their own practice squad.

Would this be worth the cost of the move and the possibility of pissing off a fellow GM in addition? I feel this type of move might be worth it for a player that is likely to remain on the acquiring team's roster for an extended period, but a free agent would be more logical for short term usage with only a game to game obligation in regards to both cap and business relations.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

One thing Harbaugh does really well is special team talent. So if Verity is on the PS. That means the kid has potential

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Business is a dog eat dog world and vice versa. I'd take a player that I want or need without worrying about future deals. They would do it to you. So.....

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

Then the Saints could signed him before he went PS. Remember he waived and no one claimed him.. would've been cheaper than Rosas too.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

That's the whole point Dominik was making ... that isn't the way it works in the NFL usually. There you need to pick your battles judiciously. Unlike most other businesses the NFL is very transient. For all you know you may be needing to ask the GM that you screwed over for a job the following year. And not only that, if you get a reputation for stepping on toes in that tight little circle of 32 jobs in the world you may never get your toe back in it again.

Re: Saints: Jake Verity could solve short-term kicker woes
 

So could any one of the other 30 teams besides the Saints. But they didn't, nor did the Saints. Why is that? Perhaps because they all know that he's nothing special. He made one 53 yard kick against the Saints in preseason. That's it. That's nothing special. Besides that one kick he made one from between 20-29 yards, went 2 out of three from 40-49, and missed one of seven simple extra point attempts.

Why are you so enamored with him?