He’s back. Former Ohio State kicker Mike Nugent has been signed by the New England Patriots according to several sources.
One of the greatest — if not the greatest — kicker in Ohio State history has been an NFL journeyman since shattering Buckeye place-kicking records in the early to mid 2000s, and has been looking for a full-time job since being released by the Cincinnati Bengals in December 2016.
Originally drafted by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft, Nugent has had stops there, in Tampa, Arizona, Cincinnati, Dallas, Chicago, Oakland, and now New England.
Nugent is reportedly being brought in to replace long-time field-goal kicker Stephen Gostkowski who was placed on the injured reserve list after suffering a hip injury and undergoing surgery. He is expected back in 2020, so this could be Nugent’s job the remainder of the year.
The former Buckeye star who garnered some Heisman votes in 2004 won a competition among several kickers the Patriots have tried out over the last few days. In his career, Nugent is 253-for-311 in field goal attempts (81.4%) with a long of 55 yards.
