Patriots: Top 5 free agents the team should try and retain

3. Stephen Gostkowski

Word on the street is Stephen Gostkowski might be getting the franchise tag from the Patriots soon. If it does indeed happen, this will mark the second time New England has given Gostkowski the tag in his career. It would also be the fourth time the Patriots under Belichick have used their tag on a kicker, with the team twice slapping Adam Vinatieri with it while he was still in Foxborough.

Belichick is known for his reluctance to use franchise and transition tags on his players, preferring instead to rework contracts to his exact liking, or to simply let players walk if they can’t see eye-to-eye when all’s said and done. The advantage to giving a player like Gostkowski the tag, though, would be in shielding him from potential suitors around the league – of which there would certainly be many.

Gostkowski is currently third all-time in career accuracy when it comes to field goal kicks, just behind Baltimore’s Justin Tucker and San Francisco’s Robbie Gould. Yes, he’s struggled at times lately, especially when the lights have been at their brightest. He’s missed some major kicks in critical postseason moments.

He’s also made a ton of gotta-have-it kicks in critical postseason moments, too, though. Never forget that the reliable veteran just accounted for nearly 50% of his team’s total scoring output in their latest championship game victory.

Whether it’s the franchise tag or a reworked contract, the Patriots should remember the adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” when it comes to their kicking game. Like Ryan Allen, Stephen Gostkowski is a rare breed of consistency and excellence at a position that you need oodles of both qualities in.