A kicker ranked 10th all-time
New Orleans has its man. Daniel Carlson is joining the Saints, with the move confirmed on Monday by the player’s agents to NFL Network.
The numbers make the case in no uncertain terms. Carlson has hit 86.9% of his field goals in his career, making 225 of 259 attempts across 129 games. That ranks 10th in NFL history. On extra points, he’s at 95.7%, with 244 conversions from 255 tries.
At 31, he arrives in Louisiana with a statistical resume most available kickers in camp can’t touch.
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Cut by Minnesota, revived by the Raiders
His path was anything but straightforward. A fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft by the Vikings, Carlson played just two games in Minnesota before being released in September. The Raiders picked him up the following month. He spent most of his eight pro seasons there, first in Oakland and then in Las Vegas.
The turnaround was dramatic. In 2021, he led the league in field goals made with 40, and in attempts with 43. The next year, he was named first-team All-Pro. In 2025, he nailed the longest kick of his career, a 60-yarder.
Smyth and Brown left out of the battle
Saints training camp had been a straight fight between Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown for the job. Carlson’s arrival ends that contest before the season even gets going.
The logic is obvious. Over an NFL season, the gap between a kicker who lives above 86% and one still learning the ropes can decide wins and losses, often in the final seconds. The Saints chose to erase the uncertainty rather than wait to find it out in September.
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