The Colts, who have invested heavily in their kicking unit. They have signed Blake Grupe to their practice squad. This change comes on the heels of the release of Grupe from the New Orleans Saints, with whom he spent three seasons. Grupe is headed to the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts as they try to solve their own kicking issues. This decision follows a just terrible showing against the Houston Texans.
Blake Grupe has a career field goal percentage of 79.8%. Most impressively, he has been almost perfect at missing just two of his 88 extra point tries. The Colts were desperate for a sure-footed kicker. This came after Michael Badgley’s criticism after he missed his third extra point in seven games. The Colts’ second loss was a heartbreaker to division foe, the Texans, 20-16 in Indy. This humiliating loss led Shane Steichen to imply that it’s time for a shake-up.
In the context of all his newness and unfamiliarity, in a recent statement, Steichen underlined the value of making routine kicks.
“We’ve missed three PATs in seven games. It’s inexcusable.” – Shane Steichen
Once Badgley’s struggles were apparent, the Colts brought in a three-man tryout that featured current Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, a five-time All-Pro kicker. But in spite of Tucker’s full credentials, he wasn’t officially brought on board by the franchise. The incident, involving disgusting online comments, led to a 10-week suspension. This punishment was due to repeated violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy due to his alleged sexual misconduct with massage therapists in Baltimore. He has since denied these allegations.
Brian Mason, the Colts’ special teams coordinator, expressed concern about moving forward with Badgley after the team’s recent performances.
Indianapolis recently signed Grupe and released Badgley. Now, they’d like to firm up their kicking game and improve their scoring efficiency. Grupe’s experience should bring the consistency the Colts need even as they face some tough challenges on their way to the end of the season.
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