Charlie Smyth signs three-year deal with New Orleans Saints

Charlie Smyth has been elevated to the New Orleans Saints 53-man roster and has signed a new three-year contract with the NFL team.

It comes after the former Down Gaelic football goalkeeper has made three consecutive appearances for the Saints and accumulated 17 points – successfully making four out of five field-goal attempts and registering five from five with his extra point efforts.

On his regular season debut against the Miami Dolphins three weeks ago, he announced himself Stateside by drilling over a 56-yard field goal. He also had an onside kick recovered late in that game, with recoveries averaging only 5 per cent for the last three NFL seasons.

Last Sunday, Smyth took centrestage in his own dream by kicking the winning score for the Saints with just two seconds remaining against the Carolina Panthers.

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“The last few days have just been crazy, it’s kind of been the result of a lot of quiet work in the background these past 18 months,” Smyth told The Irish Times.

Smyth is the first player to make the transition from Gaelic football to NFL without playing in the US college system.

Irish-born Daniel Whelan is punter for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, while Jude McAtamney got a chance in the league this year, but missed two extra-point attempts, one crucially in the fourth quarter, as the New York Giants lost by a point. The Derry man was cut from the team, and then the practice squad, showing the cut-throat nature of the sport.