FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ The New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at 4:25 and as of noon Friday, they don't have a kicker.
"We'll see how it goes. We'll just have to see how it goes," Bill Belichick said at his Friday morning press conference. "We'll go with what we've got or we'll see how it goes."
Before the press conference started, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted the Patriots were expected to bring Nick Folk back. Rapoport amended the tweet after Belichick didn't confirm the report at the press conference, then reported the Patriots were bringing Folk in to kick to see if he could play Sunday.
Tuesday it was reported the Patriots tried to sign Chase McLaughlin, who was cut by the San Francisco 49ers. The Indianapolis Colts put in a waiver claim to get McLaughlin with Adam Vinatieri potentially unable to kick this weekend.
Folk had an appendectomy on Thanksgiving morning and the team went with Kai Forbath, who promptly yanked an extra point in the team's 28-22 loss to the Houston Texans Sunday night. It was the second time in his career Forbath missed an extra point in Houston and he was cut Monday.
So who's going to kick? It's a good question. The expected recovery time from a laparoscopic appendectomy is 1-3 weeks, but that's for common folk, not NFL kickers.
The next option would be punter Jake Bailey. The rookie has been solid on kickoffs this season and established himself as one of the best punters in the NFL. He didn't kick extra points or field goals at Stanford, but his college bio says he went 12 of 16 on FG attempts in high school, including three from 50-plus with a long of 54.
Options after Bailey are limited. In 2010 Wes Welker was used in an emergency basis when Stephen Gostkowski was hurt in the Patriots' 34-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
"We were just talking about him the other day. We're going to see if we can round him up," Belichick joked.
If Bailey were to kick, that means he can't hold. Tom Brady held in a 2014 preseason game against the New York Giants, but it's hard to see the Patriots putting him out there. Cody Kessler would be another option, but the third-string quarterback hasn't been active for one game this season.
Should the Patriots balk on signing Folk for Sunday's game, Kessler getting activated could point to Bailey handling the kicking duties for at least this week.
