The Saints cut kicker Daniel Carlson after he made 8 of 12 field goals

The Saints are changing kickers. New Orleans terminated Daniel Carlson's contract on Tuesday and claimed running back Audric Estime off waivers from Cleveland, the team announced.

Carlson made 8 of 12 field goals this season, 66.7%, which ESPN said was tied for the second-worst rate in the league. He also missed two extra points in seven games. His last miss was a 52-yarder in the 16-10 loss to Pittsburgh in Paris before the bye.

Moore said he'd evaluate it. Then he did

On Monday, coach Kellen Moore didn't commit to a change. "Obviously we just got to continue to evaluate the field goal opportunities," he said, per ESPN, adding that it would be something "we'll just have to work through and discuss and find the best solution for Sunday." He also said the team didn't plan to bring in kickers for tryouts.

A day later Carlson was gone. ESPN reported that the move clears the way for practice squad kicker Charlie Smyth, from Ireland, to kick Sunday against the Browns. Smyth made 12 of 16 as the full-time kicker over the last six games of last season.

Carlson was a two-time All-Pro with the Raiders in 2021 and 2022. Las Vegas didn't re-sign him after he made 81.5% of his kicks, and he signed with New Orleans in late August after Smyth and Tanner Brown failed to win the job in camp.

A 2-5 team cleaning house

This is the Saints' second move out of the bye. On Monday they fired run game coordinator T.J. Paganetti after rushing for 18 yards on 17 carries against the Steelers, per ESPN. Both moves came with the team at 2-5.