Should Patriots draft a kicker if Stephen Gostkowki’s money demands are too high?

The New England Patriots are at odds with kicker Stephen Gostkowski over a new contract, according to NFL Network’s Mike Giardi. The two parties have been working on a deal, but they can’t come to agreement on money. Giardi offered the caveat: There’s still plenty of time.

And frankly, the Patriots have the upper hand, because few teams have needs for a kicker. The demand for Gostkowski may be low league-wide. If Gostkowki’s number continues to be too high for New England, that begs the question: would the Patriots move on?

They have 12 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, and could use one of those selections to bring in competition or a successor to Gostkowski.

A source says not much happening between #Patriots and kicker Steven Gostkowski. Money is an issue (shocking) though "there's still plenty of time."

— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) April 2, 2019

The candidates aren’t overwhelming, but the draft has a few kickers who might get selected:

• Cole Tracy, LSU: During his lone season as the team’s starter in 2018, he was 87.9 % (29 of 33). Hit hit all 42 extra point attempts. He hit 6 of 7 between 40- and 50-yards. From 50 or more yards, he was 3 of 5. In a bowl game against UCF, he was 4 of 4 on field goals and 4 of 4 on extra points. He is likely the top kicker in the draft, but his small sample size (with only one year as a starter) might an issue for New England.
• Matt Gay, Utah: He was a two-year starter in college. In 2018, he hit 83.9% of his kicks and 100% of his extra-point attempts. In 2017, he made 88.2% of his kicks while making all 40 of his extra-point attempts. In his two bowl games (combined), he was 5 of 5 on field goals and 5 of 5 on extra points.
• John Barron II, San Diego St.: He was a three-year starter for the Aztecs with a career field goal percentage of 83.3. His career high was 91.3 in 2016. But he also missed two extra points that season — they were the only two his missed during his college career, and he finished a 98.5 extra-point percentage. In two bowl games (combined), he hit all nine of his extra-point attempts and both of his field goal attempts. The only anxiety with Barron would be that he hasn’t been tested under a true high-pressure situation.

While this kicker group isn’t staggeringly good, New England may have circled one candidate — on this list of off it — who they believe is capable of replacing Gostkowski.