The punter competition is going to come down to the wire.
It’s Jake Bailey versus Ryan Allen.
The pair is competing for a spot on the New England Patriots 53-man roster.
Bailey, who the Patriots traded up for in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, started against the Detroit Lions. He was the placekicker for the opening kickoff in Thursday’s 31-3 win and punted after the Patriots first turnover on downs in the first quarter.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked about the development he’s seen from Bailey during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Monday.
“Jake’s got a lot to learn,” Belichick said. “He has talent. (He has) done a number of different things, from punting to holding to kicking off. Again, there is a lot of situational things that fall with those areas of responsibility. So, we’re working our way through some of those and we’ll see how it goes.”
Bailey unleashed his lone punt of the game against the Lions, which traveled 45 yards and record five-plus seconds of hang time. Allen took three punts during the preseason game, which went for 118 yards (39 yards per punt).
Bailey is part of a much bigger group of younger guys fighting for a roster spot.
“Just keep plugging away here with all these young guys,” Belichick said. “They all have a long way to go. I think they’re all making progress. We’ll see whether they can get better, stay the same, tail off, I don’t know.”
