This offseason, the Dallas Cowboys made numerous changes across their roster and on the coaching staff. One of those changes was at the kicking position, as they held a competition between Tristian Vizcaino and Brandon Aubrey. The reason is the Cowboys moved on from veteran Brett Maher. During the regular season, Maher was a reliable option for Dallas. But in the Wild Card Round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Maher missed four of five extra-point attempts. After the season, the Cowboys didn't re-sign him.
Maher signed with the Denver Broncos this offseason, looking to earn another shot as a starting kicker. On Tuesday, Maher's stint ended, as he was released by the team. The decision was made after the Broncos acquired Will Lutz from the New Orleans Saints, thus reuniting with former head coach Sean Payton. The Broncos sent over a seventh-round pick to the Saints to get Lutz.
Former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher released by Broncos after Will Lutz trade
There was writing written on the wall in the Broncos facility for Maher. In the team's first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, Maher missed both of his field goal attempts, measuring at 47 and 52 yards. However, the latter kick was blocked. After that game, Payton said that while he thought Maher played well, he noted that he is competing with kickers on the other 31 teams in the NFL. As in, if there was an option available, the Broncos would probably pivot to that.
"Brett had a good day today," said Payton, h/t ProFootballTalk. "He's competing. He's competing with himself because he's got 31 other teams. There are probably seven teams that have a real kicking battle, so he's competing with those guys that come out of those clubs."
In Denver's second preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, Maher made both field goal attempts, including a long of 48 yards. Maher made both field goal attempts, including a 46-yard long, and all five of his extra-point attempts.
With the news of Lutz being dealt to Denver, It was confirmed that New Orleans was moving forward with undrafted free agent rookie Blake Grupe as their starter this season. Grupe was five of six on his field goal attempts this preseason. That lone miss was on a 60-yard attempt. With that, Maher became the odd man out in Denver.
As for the Cowboys, they appear to be moving forward with Aubrey as their kicker after they released Vizcaino early on in training camp.
