It’s evident to anyone who watched the Patriots beat the Dolphins in week two that the team has a kicking problem. Patriots’ sixth-round rookie kicker Andy Borregales missed two extra points in the win on September 14 to add on to his 44-yard miss during week one. The missed kicks are leaving fans extremely upset. Many have voiced outrage on X, with some fans saying, “I think I can kick better than Andy Borregales” (X/mqnchster), “I need Andy Borregales off my team” (X/LeeDaPhoto), and “Andy Borregales is the worst kicker in the History of the league” (X/Gerald).

Fans wouldn’t be as upset if five, yes five, former Patriots kickers weren’t starters for other teams in the NFL. Not only are these kickers starting, but they are thriving for other organizations.

Let’s start at the beginning with Nick Folk. Folk was the starting kicker for the Patriots from 2020 to 2022 and was a decent kicker for the team. He had a kicking percentage of over 90% for two out of his three years in New England, and while his 2022 kicking percentage dipped into the high eighties, there were still little to no signs that he was slowing down. Despite all of Folk’s success in New England, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick decided to draft Maryland’s Chad Ryland in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Ryland wound up winning the kicking competition, and Folk was shipped off to Tennessee, where he put up better numbers than he ever did in New England, and is now kicking for the New York Jets. 

For the Patriots to choose Ryland over Folk, he must be pretty good, right? The short answer to that question is yes; however, he’s good for the Arizona Cardinals. Chad Ryland’s rookie season with the Patriots was far from satisfactory, as he had one of the worst kicking seasons in recent NFL history (for a kicker who played in all 17 games). The following season, he was released and picked up by the Cardinals, where he went 28-32 on field goals (87.5%) and is still their starting kicker today. 

Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and the Patriots decided to replace Chad Ryland with former Commanders’ kicker Joey Slye. Slye was not perfect in his time in New England during the 2024 season, but he had a strong leg and was relatively accurate. Most Patriots fans were not too upset when the team let Slye walk and go to the Tennessee Titans; however, Slye has been perfect so far this season and looks like a really skilled kicker. 

In the middle of last season, the Patriots quietly signed a kicker by the name of John Parker Romo to their practice squad. In the sixth round of April’s NFL Draft, they also selected Miami’s Andy Borregales, and another kicker competition was going to take place over the summer for the Patriots. Most expected Borregales to steamroll Parker Romo, as he was mediocre for his former team; however, if one person did “streamroll” another, it was Parker Romo. He was perfect in the pre-season and even made a 54-yard field goal against the Commanders. 

Unfortunately for Parker Romo, he wasn’t given many other opportunities in the pre-season and was eventually released on cut-down day. The Falcons saw what Romo did this summer and snatched him, quickly signing him to their practice squad, before promoting him to the active roster ahead of their week 2 game against the Vikings. Parker Romo was fantastic and was awarded the player of the game, going 5/5 on field goals.

This is all without mentioning the Patriots’ kicker “tryouts” that took place on a week-to-week basis in 2019, and the other failed rookie kickers, who didn’t even make it to the active 53-man roster. For a franchise that for two decades had outstanding kickers, it is surprising to see the fall of the position in New England.