NFL fans noticed the same thing about New Orleans Saints kicker Blake Grupe before kickoff against the Kansas City Chiefs on “Monday Night Football.”
The 25-year-old native of Sedalia, Missouri, returned to his home state for the Saints’ Week 5 contest against the defending Super Bowl champions at Arrowhead Stadium. Blake Grupe attended Smith-Cotton High School before beginning his collegiate career at Arkansas State.
Matt Foster of KSHB 41 in Kansas City shared a video of Grupe walking out of the tunnel and signing an autograph for a fan before he began warmups:
And social media made the same observation about Blake Grupe after this video went viral on X/Twitter:
Blake Grupe signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and won the kicking job over veteran Wil Lutz, who was traded to the Denver Broncos (reuniting him with Sean Payton) ahead of Week 1.
Grupe is 8-for-8 on field goal attempts through New Orleans’ first five games, though he’s already missed two extra points — including one against Kansas City in the Saints’ 26-13 loss.
Last season, Grupe was 30-of-37 on field goal attempts and made all 40 extra points kicks.
Blake Grupe & Saints Are Trying To Get Back On Track
New Orleans has dropped three straight games following an excellent 2-0 start that saw them put up 40-burgers against the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. With starting QB Derek Car expected to miss multiple weeks with an oblique injury, things are quickly going sideways for Dennis Allen’s group.
Sunday’s home tilt against Baker Mayfield’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers is essentially a must-win for New Orleans. A loss would drop them to 2-4 and two games out of first for the NFC South.
If the Saints don’t turn a corner in the coming weeks, one can only wonder if Allen will become the second head coach fired mid-season after Robert Saleh.
