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NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints are signing Cade York to their practice squad following a tryout on Tuesday, a source told ESPN. York and Justin Tucker both tried out with the Saints on Tuesday after Saints kicker Blake Grupe missed two field goals against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. and was released by the team on Tuesday, sources confirmed to ESPN. Grupe missed eight kicks this season, but the Saints did not bring in any kickers for a workout until this week. Grupe appeared to confirm his release in a post to X in which he thanked the organization and said he "can't wait for my next opportunity to prove what I can do." Tuesday's workout was Tucker's first since he was reinstated by the NFL on Nov. 11. Tucker was suspended for the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season because of violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy. Tucker, who kicked for the Baltimore Ravens for 13 seasons, was released by the team in May after the Baltimore Banner reported 16 massage therapists at eight different spas in the Baltimore area accused Tucker of sexual misconduct. York, 24, was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of LSU but spent only one season there. He was most recently in Cincinnati, where he kicked five games in place of injured Evan McPherson. Saints coach Kellen Moore said on Monday that they wanted to bring Tucker in for a workout because of his years of success in Baltimore, where he made seven Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro five times. Tucker, 36, only made 73.3% of his kicks in his final season in Baltimore, a career low. "He's been a really good kicker in this league for a really long time and he's had a ton of success and he's been a leader for Baltimore for a long time," Moore said. "He's been one of their leaders for an extended period of time with a very successful team and so obviously there's been some stuff that's been unfortunate. He's gone through an experience and I think it's about collecting what that experience was and we'll evaluate the football aspect of it and we'll evaluate everything else as well. Tucker was cut with three years left on a four-year, $22 million contract extension signed in 2022. The extension made him the league's highest-paid kicker at the time. Grupe, 27, has been with the Saints for three seasons after he was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2023. He has competed with practice squad kicker Charlie Smyth in training camp for the past two seasons. Smyth, who came to the Saints via the International Player Pathway, has never kicked in a regular-season game. Grupe made only 69.2% of his kicks this season, a career low.
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