The Patriots are releasing kicker Stephen Gostkowski
The Patriots are releasing kicker Stephen Gostkowski, the team announced Monday evening.
Gostkowski, 36, underwent season-ending hip surgery last year but was expected to be ready to start the 2020 season.
The Patriots currently do not have a kicker on their roster, which has now lost a number of familiar faces. Nick Folk, who finished last season with the Patriots, is an unrestricted free agent. Folk, along with Mike Nugent and Kai Forbath, was one of three temporary fixes to help fill the void at kicker.
Just two of Gostkowski’s 14 seasons in New England have been cut short due to injury. In 2010, he suffered a torn quadriceps. Last year, he suffered a torn labrum in his left hip. Gostkowski appeared in just four games last season and registered a career-low accuracy (73.3 percent) in extra-point attempts.
Drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round in 2006, Gostkowski has spent his entire NFL career in New England. In 2014, he surpassed former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.
During his 14-year tenure, Gostkowski connected on 374 of 428 field goal attempts (87.4 percent) and 653 of 664 point-after attempts (98.3 percent) for 1,775 points. He won three Super Bowl titles, hitting 39 of 44 field goal attempts (88.6 percent) and 88 of 92 point-after attempts (95.7 percent) in the postseason.
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