Blake Grupe shares emotional goodbye message with Saints fans

Change is inevitable. It has to be when a kicker misses eight field goals in eleven games like Blake Grupe did. And you don't have to tell him that -- the former New Orleans Saints kicker admitted as much in an emotional goodbye message to fans after the team waived him on Tuesday.

"Thank you New Orleans," Grupe wrote on social media. "This organization took a chance on me and I’ve gave everything I had to them and this city every Sunday for these last 3 years. I’m thankful for all the coaches and players that have supported me along the way. Nobody wanted it to work more than me."

It wasn't an easy path for him to get here. Grupe signed with the Saints as a rookie free agent from Notre Dame with just $2,500 guaranteed on his contract. He earned the nod over former Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz in a head-to-head training camp competition and kept it going through a roller coaster experience. Until it went off the rails. And he never shied away from tough questions at his locker after bad games.

Grupe added that he "Can’t wait for my next opportunity to prove what I can do," and he'll have a second chance somewhere. We've seen other kickers hit a rough skid, be let go, and catch on with another team's practice squad while they work to bounce back. Just look at Younghoe Koo's turn with the New York Giants after flaming out on the Atlanta Falcons. It's a shame things didn't work out in New Orleans. Good luck to him in whatever comes next.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Blake Grupe shares emotional goodbye message with Saints fans