Stephen Gostkowski signs two-year deal with Patriots
On Tuesday, free agent placekicker Stephen Gostkowski signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract to remain with the New England Patriots.
One of the last dominos to fall for the Patriots in free agency was one of the most important. Veteran placekicker Stephen Gostkowski, who has spent his entire 13-year career with the organization that drafted him, agreed to a new two-year, $8.5 million contract.
Patriots are giving kicker Stephen Gostkowski a two-year, $8.5 million deal, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 10, 2019
While mutual interest between Gostkowski and the Patriots always seemed to be present throughout this offseason, there was reportedly a gap between what the 35-year-old kicker wanted in his new contract and what the Patriots were willing to offer him financially.
On the one hand, Gostkowski has been a rock for the team most of his career, and currently owns the third-best accuracy mark among kickers in NFL history. On the other hand, he’s also shown a recent trend of missing kicks in high-pressure playoff situations, and he’s certainly on the back nine of his career.
Perhaps Rob Gronkowski’s surprise retirement freed up some of the necessary funds to get a deal done. With Gronkowski off the books, the Patriots gained approximately $10 million in cap relief, some of which presumably was allocated for Gostkowski’s new deal. New England is still relatively well-positioned with regards to the salary cap, even with Gostkowski’s new deal in place now.
We identified Gostkowski as one of the top in-house free agents the Patriots needed to try and find a way to retain in 2019, so it’s reassuring to see the team do the right thing and find the means to bring him back. As anyone who witnessed the Chicago Bears/Philadelphia Eagles playoff game last year can attest, NFL teams cannot afford to skimp when it comes to securing the services of a battle-tested, proven, ice-in-the-veins type of kicker.
Next. Gronk, Edelman, Gilmore toss out first pitches. dark
While the Patriots should still consider adding a new young kicker in the NFL Draft to one day replace Gostkowski, they made the right move in bringing him back for at least another season or two.