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New England Patriots signing veteran kicker Mike Nugent

By Zachary Downing

FOXBORO, MA - AUGUST 31: Mike Nugent #2 of the New York Giants celebrates his game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter during a preseason game with the New England Patriots in the first half at Gillette Stadium on August 31, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA - AUGUST 31: Mike Nugent #2 of the New York Giants celebrates his game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter during a preseason game with the New England Patriots in the first half at Gillette Stadium on August 31, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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The New England Patriots have found their replacement for the injured Stephen Gostkowski in kicker Mike Nugent. Can he live up to Gostkowski’s consistency?

Mike Nugent, who spent most of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals, is suiting up for his eighth different team as he prepares to represent the New England Patriots. Wednesday’s kicking tryouts were seen by many as a precautionary measure to replace the struggling Stephen Gostkowski, but fans didn’t know that he was actually about to undergo season-ending surgery for his left hip.

After hosting several veteran kickers (including Kai Forbath), Coach Belichick and the Pats chose to sign 14-year veteran Mike Nugent to the team, as well as former AAF kicker Younghoe Koo to the practice squad.

Despite having such a long tenure in the league, Nugent isn’t one of the more acclaimed kickers in recent memory. However, since he’s been decent enough to be an NFL mainstay over the years, how do his statistics look?

His career field goal percentage is 81.4%, and his extra point percentage since the attempts were moved back in 2015 is 89%. He’s 85/86 inside 30 yards, 78/93 from 30-39, 77/102 from 40/49, and only 13/33 from 50+.

He’s also 15/17 in the playoffs – which is solid – but his team hasn’t won any of the five playoff games he’s appeared in. This looks to be the year to change that.

Looking at the statistics, Nugent doesn’t seem all that great. However, he’s a veteran kicker who’s been serviceable for a long time, and he will serve as a decent replacement in a time of vacancy for the kicking position. On the optimistic side, Coach Belichick and special teams coach Joe Judge could certainly sprinkle some extra wisdom and Patriots magic onto Nugent… and perhaps he’ll end up pulling out a small comeback year.

The practice squad signing of Younghoe Koo also serves as a small security blanket, since he’s a young player who flashed talent in the AAF and got a bad rap as a brief member of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Next. A not-so-warm welcome back for safety Jordan Richards. dark

In the meantime, Pats Nation will have to wait for Gostkowski to recover from hip surgery and hope he returns to his career form. The Patriots are in a tough position to suffer this setback now in their kicking game, but the team should be able to get the best out of Nugent if they get him up to speed quickly.

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