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"GMFB" debate can the Denver Broncos break NFL single-season team sack record.
Wil Lutz has been Sean Payton’s kicker for a good deal of both their careers -- be it with the New Orleans Saints or Denver Broncos.
They were both in Canton, Ohio, on Saturday, when their old quarterback Drew Brees was enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
The Saturday away for the kicker offered the conundrum of what Payton’s Broncos would do if Lutz was suddenly unavailable.
Well, Denver has a safety plan.
Safety Brandon Jones converted three of four field goal attempts during Saturday’s scrimmage, making good on two straight from around 35 yards before making his final boot as teammates and fans cheered him along, according to The Associated Press.
“The thing I found out as a young coach in this league is after spending 16 years in college, you had three kickers, three punters, all that,” Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi said Saturday, via team transcript. “Obviously with the restrictions on game-day rosters, you have to have a contingency. We’ve seen it happen in other games across the league.
“You have to have a contingency for anything. So obviously with Wil being in Canton, it was a perfect opportunity to get Brandon a couple of kicks, and he did a great job.”
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Jones did not kick in high school or college.
“I just have some history in playing soccer,” he said. “I don't know how I even got to kick. Me and I guess, I can't remember ... I think I just was joking with 'Riz' like, ‘Yo, I can kick if you ever need an emergency-kicker-type of situation.’ Then he called my bluff and put me to the test one day, I think it was some time last year. I made an extra point. Apparently, there are a lot of guys on the team that can also kick, but I guess I just got the opportunity today. [I] went three-for-four, so not too bad.”
Jones, 28, is entering his third season with the Broncos after spending four with the Miami Dolphins, who drafted him in the 2020 third round out of Texas.
The Texas native might be lining up a post-football career in … football.
“I’ve always told people, whenever I get done player, I’d like to go through a tryout with an MLS team," he said. "I think I need to be humbled. I need them to be like, ‘You’re not that good.’ But yeah, once we get there, we’ll see.”
Jones' days on the pitch didn’t extend all that long, however.
“I played some club soccer, but I stopped in high school because I was like, ‘Let’s be real. I’m a football player,’” he said.
With 28 starts over the past two seasons at safety for Denver and 431 career tackles, Jones likely has most in the organization hoping his kicking will stop in training camp. Nonetheless, after Hall of Fame Saturday, the Broncos know they’ve got a safety plan if they need one at kicker.