Broncos to sign ex-Cowboys kicker who suffered playoff meltdown: Three reasons why the gamble could pay off

It looks like the Denver Broncos have decided to take a gamble on Brett Maher. 

According to multiple reports, the Broncos have agreed to a one-year deal with Maher, who spent the 2022 season with the Dallas Cowboys, which you were probably already aware of if you watched the NFL playoffs at all last season. 

The last time we saw Maher on the field, he was going through a historical postseason meltdown: First, he missed four straight extra points in a wild-card round game against the Buccaneers, which made him the first kicker in NFL history to miss four extra points in a game. One week later, he missed another extra point in a 19-12 divisional round loss to the 49ers. 

Despite his ugly postseason, this is a gamble for the Broncos that could absolutely pay off. Here are three reasons why the move makes sense. 

• 1. He was actually good last year. Although Maher had a nightmare end to his 2022 season, he was one of the best kickers during the regular season. Maher hit 90.6% of his field goals (29 of 32), which was tied for 12th in the NFL. However, that accuracy number is even better when you take a closer look at it: The strong-legged Maher went 28 of 29 from inside 58 yards in 2022 (96.7%), which was tied for the BEST percentage in the NFL among all kickers who attempted at least four total field goals. 
• 2. He’s one of the best long-distance kickers in NFL history. Maher has hit four field goals of 60 yards or more in his career, which is an NFL record (Only one other kicker even has three from that range). That could make Maher a true weapon in Denver, where he’ll be kicking into the mile high air. To give you an idea of what kind of advantage that is, there have only been eight field goals in NFL history of 63 yards or more and three of them were kicked in Denver. 
• 3. Sean Payton knows him. One other thing Maher has going for him is that he’s familiar with Payton. During the 2021 season, Maher served as the Saints kicker for the final eight games of the year. During his short stint with the Saints, Maher went 17 of 18 from 55 yards and in. 

Of course, just because Maher signed with Denver doesn’t mean he’ll be the kicker in Week 1. First, he’ll have to win a kicking battle with Elliott Fry, who is currently the only other kicker on the Broncos’ roster. 

Even if he beats out Fry though, he still might not get the job and that’s because Payton has been known to cut both kickers involved in a competition and then roll with someone else entirely, as he explained earlier this year. 

“We had a kicking battle one year in New Orleans with two guys and man, (reporters) all charted it each day during training camp,” Payton said earlier this offseason, via the Denver Post. “They both did good things and then had days maybe they weren’t as good. Then the final cut down takes place at 53 and I get a call from someone I know well with another staff that thinks he’s got a kicker. We bring him in on Monday, work him out, and we sign neither of the two in the kicking battle.”

The only reason the Broncos are looking for a kicker is because they surprisingly cut Brandon McManus, who had been the team’s kicker since 2014. 

If Maher does end up winning the kicking job, this is a gamble that could certainly pay off for Denver…. but it could also blow up in their face if Maher continues to have the yips that haunted him during the 2022 playoffs.