Colts find their replacment for a struggling player, but recent stats don’t point towards this ending well for the team
It didn’t take long for the Colts to find their replacement for Michael Badgley at kicker, but his recent kicking stats leave a lot to be desired.
The writing was certainly on the wall all week long, but the Indianapolis Colts finally made it official by moving on from kicker Michael Badgley. Badgley’s second stint with the Colts lasted seven games after he signed with the team following Spencer Shrader’s season-ending injury.
Badgley was a successful field goal kicker for the Colts, making 10 of his 11 attempts; oddly enough, his struggles on extra points led to this move. This past week, Badgley missed his third extra point in only seven games, and it was without a doubt the most costly. The team couldn’t handle it anymore, as special teams coordinator Brian Mason called the extra point struggles “unacceptable.”
Colts sign kicker Blake Grupe
It didn’t take long for the team to find his replacement, as NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that the team is signing former New Orleans Saints kicker Blake Grupe to their practice squad.
With no kicker on the active roster, the plan seems to be for him to be active in Week 13 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. Grupe began his career strongly by making over 80% of his field goal attempts in each of his first two seasons. He was even a captain for the Saints this year, but things fell off the rails in a big way.
Grupe has made only 18 of his 26 field goal attempts this season, by far his worst career field goal percentage at 69.2%. He has been nearly automatic on extra points over the years, with only two misses in his career, both in 2024. This will be a reunion for Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason, who coached Grupe during his final collegiate season at the University of Notre Dame.
Blake Grupe’s NFL stats
- 2023: 30/37 field goals (81.1%), 40/40 extra points (100%)
- 2024: 27/31 field goals (87.1%), 31/33 extra points (93.9%)
- 2025: 18/26 field goals (69.2%), 15/15 extra points (100%)
Thoughts on what went wrong for Grupe with the Saints
“Grupe is such an enigma as an NFL player, and that’s actually how he became fairly well known as a young player for the Saints. You don’t often see many pros who are 5-7 and 156 pounds. That’s the case for the young boot, though. Last season, Grupe showed notable improvements from the season before for the Saints. He found more consistency and made 7 out of 8 from 40-49 yards. His overall FG% was 87.1%, so there was some quiet confidence in him entering this season. Grupe was even named a team captain ahead of Kellen Moore’s first season with New Orleans.
“Unfortunately, the 2025 campaign didn’t replicate that success. Grupe struggled to a league-worst 69.2% FG% and missed two kicks in the 30-39 yard range. In today’s NFL, that’s simply unacceptable. The Saints moved on from him last week. He will look to bounce back with some new scenery in Indy.” – Adam Holt, A To Z Sports New Oreleans
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