Patriots: Bill Belichick still confident in pair of kickers after roster shuffle

Patriots HC Bill Belichick is confident in two practice squad kickers in Nick Folk and Justin Rohrwasser.

The New England Patriots were extremely busy condensing their roster from 77 to 53 players this weekend ahead of Saturday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, making a number of both expected and surprising releases.

Speaking of which, when it was revealed that 2020 fifth-round pick Justin Rohrwasser was cut, we were immediately led to believe that Nick Folk, who was re-signed in late August after a seven-game stint with the team last season, won the supposed training camp competition.

As it turned out, however, the 35-year-old veteran was also axed, which was extremely puzzling when you consider that it left the Patriots without a place kicker on the roster with Week 1 right around the corner.

That would normally be a major cause for concern for NFL teams, but we’re talking about an organization run by the ever-calculating Bill Belichick. To nobody’s surprise, the six-time champion is confident in both men on the practice squad, whom he believes are “NFL quality.”

Since Belichick prepared himself to take full advantage of the new roster regulations, both Folk and Rohrwasser were ultimately signed back to the practice squad, which increased from 10 to 16 players to help teams work around potential COVID-19 diagnoses.

Despite rampant speculation, the 68-year-old seems comfortable and confident with the two men who spent all summer with the organization, even after they were both banished from the roster on Saturday afternoon.

Whether it’s Folk or Rohrwasser against the Dolphins on Week 1, it seems likely that Belichick isn’t plotting some mysterious third addition to the competition. After a few more days, he’ll elevate one of these known quantities to the active roster.

If we had to guess, we’d say that Folk will make the starting job his own after an impressive cameo in 2019, but nothing is ever a given with Belichick. We honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the legendary head coach not only waited until the last possible minute to name the starer, but if his decision shocked the fanbase as well.