For the first time in a long time, kicker position was suspect

The Patriots dealt with more uncertainty at the kicker position in 2019 than they have in the past two decades.

New England has been fortunate enough to carry Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski during its incredible run. Consistency at kicker has been a huge reason for the team’s success, and it’s been a situation that Belichick hasn’t had to think about much.

That all changed when Gostkowski was placed on the injured reserve list with a left hip injury early in the season. They went out and got Mike Nugent at first, but he was one of four total kickers they had on the roster in 2019. The Patriots ended the season with Nick Folk, who is heading to free agency this offseason. They dealt with the consequences of not having a steady kicker throughout the middle of the season.

Gostkowski has one more season left on his contract with a cap hit of $5 million, so the Patriots may want to prioritize a kicker in the draft. If Gostkowski is healthy, it’s likely that they’ll return him and let go of Folk. This was just one issue of many that the Patriots dealt with in 2019.

[vertical-gallery id=77566]