Wil Lutz, New Orleans Saints. (Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports)
The New Orleans Saints could be without Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz for several weeks now.
With the preseason about to be underway, the New Orleans Saints will be without their Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz for potentially the next several weeks.
Lutz will be evaluated over the next for days for a core muscle injury. If he has surgery on the core muscle in question, that could sideline him for roughly eight weeks. Given that he plays a position where core muscles are very important, Lutz could be out for more than three months. This is the last thing the Saints needed, as they hope to win the NFC South crown for the fifth year in a row.
The usually strong Saints special teams unit looks to be weakened for the foreseeable future.
New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz could be out well into the regular season
Prior to Lutz’s injury, the Saints were a major regression candidate in the NFC anyway. They play in the same division that prominently features the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Future first-ballot hall of famer Drew Brees retired back in the spring, and their No. 1 wide receiver Michael Thomas is still dealing with the fallout from his injury from a season ago.
It is not just that the Saints should be worried about. Their two other division rivals in the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers are trending up under their respective coaching staffs. Odds are one of these teams will hover around .500, while the other may still be a year away. Simply put, the Saints may not be one of seven teams who make the NFL playoffs out of the NFC in 2021.
If you question the impact of Lutz’s absence, then you do not understand his value to the Saints.