Among the roster battles throughout the offseason deemed most crucial was the kicking competition between seasoned veteran Joey Slye and struggling second-year prospect Chad Ryland. He had a rough rookie season in 2023, becoming more of a liability on the field than a help, which led to the Patriots signing Slye.
It was assumed that, no matter what happened, the veteran would be the frontrunner for the job, given Ryland's history. But their statistics throughout the summer remained close, and by the time roster cuts came around, they were nearly identical.
Because of that, it made sense for the new regime to stick with the more experienced player, so they released Ryland during that time. He eventually signed with the Cardinals after their kicker went down with an injury, and he has continued to make the Patriots look foolish for moving on from him week after week.
Chad Ryland is proving he should have been on the Patriots roster this season
Although Slye has been mostly solid this year, his performance has declined over the past month and is now on pace to have the worst statistical season of his career in regards to field goal completion.
He has been asked to kick 30 field goals this year and has only hit 23, bringing him to just 76.7% for the year, nearing the stats of his rookie season in 2019.
Meanwhile, Ryland is proving why Bill Belichick chose to trade up for him in the 2023 NFL Draft and is putting together an impressive year for the playoff-hopeful Cardinals. He has been asked to kick 26 field goals and has completed 22, resulting in an 84.6% and hasn't missed a single extra point.
On Sunday, he hit a 58-yard field goal to tie the game against the Panthers and force overtime, a kick he would have surely missed while with the Patriots.
drilled it.
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 22, 2024
OT here we come 👀 pic.twitter.com/Gf2A0K0maU
Because they have struggled to find an adequate kicker since Belichick decided to keep Ryland over Nick Folk, it looks like it might have been another mistake to have kept Slye this year.
This puts the Patriots in another position this upcoming offseason to find the right guy for the job, which isn't a great spot to be in, considering the importance of having a reliable kicker.