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It's been a memorable weekend for Mayobridge man Charlie Smyth who has matured incredibly fast in his transition from the GAA to a kicker with the New Orleans Saints in American Football's National Football League. Before heading stateside Smyth played in goals for Down.
On Friday 19 December he was signed from the practice squad to the active roster and yesterday after just four career games he found himself in the record books when he led the Saints to a win over New York Jets, tying in the clubs all time record of five field goals!
Smyth originally signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2024 through the NFL's International Player Pathway (IPP) program and has spent the past two seasons on the Saints' practice squad before taking over the kicking duties in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins.
Up until Friday Smyth had four-of-five on field goal attempts with a long of 56 yards and successfully converted an onside kick. His first career field goal, a 56-yarder, is tied for the second-longest made on a first attempt in NFL history. In Week 15 against Carolina, he connected on a 42-yarder and the game-winning 47-yarder with two seconds remaining, marking New Orleans' first game-winning field goal since 2022.
Yesterday 21 December Charlie Smyth was in the news again when he tied a club record with five field goals in the win against New York Jets. Smyth connected from 35, 49, 36, 50 and 39 yards out, respectively.
Smyth is just the second kicker in NFL history to appear in a game after coming from Ireland through the NFL's International Player Pathway (IPP) program, joining Jude McAtamney, and he is the first to do so without any prior college experience. Launched in 2017, the IPP program is designed to give elite international athletes the opportunity to develop their skills and compete for a spot on an NFL roster.
After yesterdays game Saints Head Coach Kellen Moore said: “Charlie’s awesome. Charlie’s awesome. He’s playing really good football, really good football, and our team’s rallying behind him. He’s got a bright future.”
Smyth is extremely grateful for all the support from back home: “Yeah, the support from everybody back home in Ireland has been unreal. I am super grateful for it. A lot of people are pushing the game of American football in Ireland, and it's nice to play, I suppose, a small part in the rise of it and just the fan culture at home.
"Yeah, I am super elated to be a part of that and the support has been amazing. I am constantly getting texts, and the phone is constantly blowing up this past couple of weeks, so it's been unreal. It's been unreal because this organization took a chance on me a couple of weeks ago and said, ‘Look, despite all the lack of experience, we are still going to give him a shot, and we see what he has been doing in the building, so just super grateful to everybody here. And I think we’re all reaping the rewards of it at the minute.”
