Mike Vrabel might have made massive mistake with one Patriots roster cut

Among the most competitive roster battles throughout the summer was for the starting role of the Patriots' next kicker. It is a position that has haunted the team since they chose to move on from Stephen Gostkowski in 2020. They have had countless players in to fill the position, even drafting three kickers over the past five years, and yet they're still struggling to find the right guy for the job.

That is partly what made the heated battle between Parker Romo and rookie Andres Borregales exciting because it meant that maybe the Patriots had finally found their next franchise player.

But their inconsistent performances made it difficult to predict who would win the job, and yet Borregales, who seemed to have lost the competition to Romo, made the roster cut, likely due to the fact that the new regime used a draft pick on him earlier this year.

So Romo was cut and was picked up by the Falcons last week. He was the starting kicker for the team on Sunday Night Football and proved New England made a mistake in letting him go.

The Patriots' struggles with their kicker continues, as the one they let go thrives with the Falcons

Because their usual starter, Younghoe Koo, is sidelined due to an injury, the Falcons signed Romo and made him their immediate starter for a big game against the Vikings this week.

Going into the fourth quarter, he was the only player to score points for the team, hitting all five field goals to keep the Falcons' lead for the entirety of the game. He even hit a 54-yard field goal to cap the night off and further seal the win for his new team.

Borregales, on the other hand, missed two extra points in the Patriots' Week 2 win over the Dolphins but did score a 22-yard field goal to keep the lead in the second quarter and redeemed himself further with a 53-yarder with just under two minutes left in the game.

It was an outing that the rookie certainly didn't need after the misses he made in the game before. Although he made the field goals, the Patriots could have lost because of the two points he missed earlier in the game, proving his lack of reliability is a lingering concern.

There is a fair argument to be made that we need to be patient with him, just as we are with rookies at nearly any other position. However, his growing pains directly impact the team, and they don't have someone to replace him with, making it almost impossible to wait and see how he performs.

For now, it's looking like a mistake to have let Romo go. But there's a chance for Borregales to turn things around and prove that he was the right guy all along. Based on how Vrabel reacted to his performance, it looks like he won't be going anywhere any time soon, so patience will be key.

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