On Monday, there was some drama inside the Denver Broncos’ special teams unit when it was announced that kicker Wil Lutz, a free agent, would be signing a three-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. till he didn’t.
At the last minute, Lutz reportedly “changed his mind” and decided to sign a two-year contract to return to Denver, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The choice was verified by John Perla, Lutz’s representative.
“There was an agreement originally with Jacksonville and then it was redone with the Broncos,” Perla explained to The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson. “We didn’t have anything in writing. He just thought about it and decided that Jacksonville was not the right spot for him.”
Acquired from New Orleans last August, reuniting with head coach Sean Payton, Lutz, 29, suffered through a shaky debut in orange and blue, missing both a field goal and an extra point amid the Broncos’ 17-16 loss to the Raiders in Week 1.
Payton opted to ride it out with the former Pro Bowler and his patience was rewarded in kind as Lutz went on to finish 30-of-34 on FG attempts and 29-of-31 on XP tries. He earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors for November after drilling five kicks amid Denver’s 21-20 upset of Buffalo in Week 10.
Lutz is the fourth in-house free agent to re-up with the Broncos, joining safety P.J. Locke, offensive lineman Quinn Bailey, and wide receiver Michael Bandy.
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