Who Should I Start? Greg Joseph or Blake Grupe

Friday, May 16, 11:47 PM

The San Francisco 49ers signed free-agent veteran kicker Greg Joseph to an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday, according to his agent. Joseph will head to the NFC West after he spent 2024 kicking for three teams -- the New York Giants, Washington Commanders and New York Jets. In eight games with those three clubs, the 30-year-old veteran went 16-for-20 on his field-goal attempts (1-for-2 from 50-plus yards) and 11-for-11 on his extra-point tries. Joseph will be in a competition in training camp for the starting kicking job this summer with Jake Moody, who will be the favorite to win the competition. Joseph entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic before debuting with the Cleveland Browns in 2018. He has an 82.3% success rate on 141 career field-goal attempts over his six seasons in the league.

Saturday, January 4, 4:22 AM

New Orleans Saints kicker Blake Grupe was perfect in Week 17, hitting his lone extra point and a 34-yard field goal try. On the season he is 30-for-32 for extra point attempts and has converted 23 of his 27 field goal attempts. All of those misses have come from 40 yards out or further. Grupe won't be kicking in the comfort of a dome in Week 18 but he will have good weather conditions when the Saints travel to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers. That said, Grupe should probably be avoided for fantasy purposes. Since their Week 12 bye, the Saints have averaged just 11.4 points per game. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler will be at the helm again in the season finale. The Saints have had a hard time sustaining drives since he took over for Derek Carr (hand), which means there is less of a chance for Grupe to get on the field. Grupe has a good leg and can be of service when called upon but the Saints' woes on offense should steer fantasy managers elsewhere in Week 18.