NFL Rumors: Patriots Will Wait To Sign Stephen Gostkowski’s Replacement

Waiting to learn who the New England Patriots’ new kicker will be? Don’t hold your breath.

The Patriots brought a large group of free agent kickers in for workouts Wednesday after choosing to place Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve but are not expected to sign one until Thursday at the earliest, according to a report from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

The team could work out additional candidates before making their decision, per Rapoport.

Among the kickers who visited Gillette Stadium on Wednesday were veterans Kai Forbath and Mike Nugent, according to multiple reports.

Forbath, 32, has kicked for six NFL teams, most recently making a three-game cameo for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. Nugent, 37, has spent time with eight different teams. He also appeared in just three games in 2018 before landing on IR with a hip injury.

Neither Forbath nor Nugent was on an NFL roster this summer.

Also included in that group, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, were Elliott Fry, who was part of the Chicago Bears’ wide-open kicker competition in training camp; Blair Walsh, who hasn’t kicked in a regular-season game since 2017 and is best known for his ghastly miss in the 2015 playoffs; and Matthew Wright, an undrafted rookie who spent the preseason with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Gostkowski has taken every field goal and extra point for the Patriots since the start of the 2011 season. New England visits the Washington Redskins on Sunday.