Breaking: Unusual Special Teams Signing by the New Orleans Saints

In a rare special teams addition, the Gaelic football goalkeeper Charlie Smyth has joined with the New Orleans Saints.

At the age of 22, Smyth becomes the first Irishman to ever ink a contract with an NFL team. Through the International Player Pathway (IPP), he was able to make his way to the NFL. Smyth was a goalie for Down GAA prior to joining the NFL.
In 2023, the New Orleans Saints had trouble with their kicking game. Groupe Charlie Smyth Blake
At the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on October 19, 2023, place kicker Blake Grupe (19) of the New Orleans Saints watches after his field goal attempt against the Jacksonville Jaguars fails during the first quarter. Required Credit: USA TODAY Sports/Matt Hinton
The kicker and the New Orleans Saints

In 2023, Blake Grupe was positioned in the lower half of the league. Grupe completed 30 of his 37 field goals attempts, for an 81.1% success rate.

His accuracy rating of 81.1% placed him in 28th place in the league. Only five of the kickers who participated in all 17 games had a lower accuracy percentage.
Grupe had severe difficulties at the beginning and middle of the season. In just five quarters, he missed three field goals in all.

Grupe attempted 19 field goals from more than 40 yards; he missed five of them. Although he had a long of 55 yards, the Saints added Charlie Smyth as competition because of his inconsistent performance from long range.

Charlie Smyth was able to

Aiming to be the New Orleans Saints’ starting quarterback, Charlie Smyth
On March 3, 2024, in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN, USA, NFL International Player Pathway place kicker Charlie Smyth (pk12) participated in the NFL Combine. Required Credit: USA TODAY Sports/Kirby Lee
Charlie Smyth, the recently signed kicker for the Saints, might challenge for the starting role. Smyth’s expectations are not too great considering Grupe’s lack of consistency in 2023.

Smyth will outperform Grupe’s 2023 attempt if he can play the position of middle-of-the-road kicker for the Saints. Smyth just became well-known on social media after making a flawless 63-yard field goal against strong wind.

In a CNN piece, rugby player Tadhg Leader expressed his surprise that the NFL took this long.

to adjust foreign players, such as those they’ve had this year.
Tadhg Leader told CNN Sport, “I’m just shocked it’s taken until 2024 for this to happen. It’s the most perfect fit.” “The offensive coordinators of several NFL teams with whom I recently spoke had no idea what Gaelic football was. They were amazed when I showed them game video. Leader continued, “They haven’t noticed it because the GAA [Gaelic Athletic Association] doesn’t have the international visibility.

It remains to be seen if Smyth can produce at the kicker position in an NFL game, but he undoubtedly has what it takes to be a top-tier NFL kicker.