The New Orleans Saints made a tough decision recently in the offseason. Just last week, they chose their starting punter. Rookie Matthew Hayball won the job over last year’s punter for New Orleans, Lou Hedley.
Accordingly, the Saints cut ties with Hedley. He remains a free agent.
Hedley, a unique style of punter and awesome locker room character, shared an emotional ‘thank you’ message for the Saints on social media.
Lou Hedley thanks the Saints for the opportunity after getting cut
Huge thank you to the Saints organization for letting me pursue my dream of playing in the NFL and everybody that helped me get there. Met some amazing people and mates for life. Excited for the next side quest — Lou Hedley via Instagram
Hedley’s lone season as the Saints punter was a rocky road in 2023. For the first half of the season, he was one of the worst punters in the NFL in hang time and touchbacks. During the second half, he showed growth last season.
He had seemingly turned a new leaf. Then, this preseason came and went.
His blemishes from last season become an apparent trend, and Hayball simply outperformed him consistently in the exhibition games. Hayball clearly had a stronger leg and prevented more returns than his counterpart.
The Saints made their decision and went with the younger option who they believe has plenty of upside.Â
Keep in mind that the Saints chose Hedley over Blake Gillikin last offseason. Gillikin went on to have a great season for the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. That’s one choice that New Orleans probably wishes they had back.
Regardless, it was nice to see Hedley send such an endearing message to the first NFL team to give him a true chance to fulfill his goal of starting in the pros. We will see if he gets another opportunity elsewhere in 2024.
