The Saints’ most recent run without a healthy kicker will come to an end. They are signing Aldrick Rosas, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (via Twitter).
Rosas’ workout went well, per NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill (on Twitter), and the former Pro Bowler edged out fellow prospective Wil Lutz replacements Alex Kessman and Dominik Eberle. Neither Kessman nor Eberle had kicked in an NFL game previously. Rosas has four years’ experience, though he has not had a regular gig in two years.
Lutz is expected to be out for months, and the Saints’ Brett Maher partnership ended after he suffered an injury during the team’s preseason opener. The team waived Maher with an injury designation. New Orleans will now pivot to Rosas, who made the Pro Bowl in 2018 but is coming off a season abbreviated by a suspension.
The Giants’ kicker from 2017-19, Rosas saw a hit-and-run arrest lead to his New York exit. The NFL suspended Rosas four games to start last season, and although he landed with the Jaguars and kicked in six games with the struggling team, he did not make it to camp under the new Urban Meyer regime.
Rosas received his Pro Bowl nod after making 32 of 33 field goals in his second season, but he has not quite approached that success in any of his other three slates. The 26-year-old specialist made 12 of 17 field goals in 2019 and went 8-for-11 in six Jags games last year. The opportunity to kick for a dome team could move Rosas back on track, however, while giving the Saints some stability. Lutz has kicked in every Saints regular-season game for the past five years. He is signed through the 2023 season.
To make room on their roster, the Saints waived tight end Josh Pederson. The aspiring NFL pass catcher is the son of former Eagles HC Doug Pederson.