FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ The Patriots kicking situation went from troublesome to worse.
The Patriots announced Wednesday afternoon that they are placing Stephen Gostkowski on the injured reserve. This move is likely the reason why the 35-year-old kicker has struggled this season. A four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Gostkowski has long been one of the best kickers in the NFL. This season, however, something has been off.
This year has been a struggle for Gostkowski. In four games, he's made just 11-of-15 (73.3%) of his extra point attempts and 7-of-8 (87.5%) of his field goal attempts. Overall, Gostkowski has missed five kicks in the last three games. Last weekend, in Buffalo, he missed an extra point attempt _ wide right from the left hash. In a 16-10 win, the Patriots certainly could've used that extra point.
"Yeah, I think as a team, there's a lot of things that we can do better, so we're working every area to improve," Bill Belichick said when asked about the field-goal unit. "I think we can improve in all three phases of the game and within those phases there's a lot of things we can work on there as well. We need work on everything. It's barely October. We've got a long way to go."
Gostkowski will be eligible to return off the injured reserve in Week 14, but it remains to be seen if that'll be possible. The Patriots are allowed to bring back two players off their IR. Their options right now are N'Keal Harry, Isaiah Wynn, James Develin and Gostkowski.
Wednesday started off with some ominous signs for the Patriots kicking situation. First, ESPN reported that the Pats were bringing in multiple kickers to try out. Then, Gostkowski wasn't present for the team's first practice of the week.
During his morning press conference, Belichick talked around the subject of trying out kickers.
"Yeah, look, I'm not confirming anything, denying anything," Belichick said. "We haven't worked any kickers out, so that's the answer to that question."
When asked if bringing in kickers to eventually try out was a means to give Gostkowski competition, Belichick said that wasn't the case.
"I don't really think any of that's related to competition; no," Belichick said.
Now we know, it's health related. Around the same time the Patriots were practicing, the Patriots held their kicker tryouts in Gillette Stadium around 2 p.m. The Pats will have an open roster spot once Gostkowski is officially placed on the injured reserve.
This isn't the first time the Patriots have dealt with an injury to Gostkowski. In 2010, the kicker suffered a thigh injury in Week 9 and was subsequently placed on the injured reserve the next week. The Pats ended up signing veteran kicker Shayne Graham. Graham ended up making 12/12 field goals and went 35/37 on extra point attempts.
Whoever replaces Gostkowski will have big shoes to fill despite the veteran's recent struggles. Gostkowski has led the NFL in scoring in five seasons (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015). The NFL record is six. He's also led the NF in field goals three times. Gostkowski entered the 2019 season 12th all-time in the NFL's scoring list.
Gostkowski also happens to be the Patriots all-time leading scorer (1,771). Adam Vinateiri (1,158) is in second place. The kicker also owns the Patriots franchise recorder for the longest field goal with a 62-yard boot in 2017. From 2006-2016, Gostkowski made 478 consecutive extra points, which is an NFL record.
Gostkowski's field goal percentage dipped to 84.4% last season, which was his lowest since 2012. Still, the Patriots have had it good with their kicker situation. From Vinateiri to Gostkowski, the Patriots have had a reliable veteran to handle their kicks.
We'll see if that continues this season.
