Patriots newest free agent signing immediately puts starter in the hot seat
Maybe one of Bill Belichick's biggest mistakes in the last years of his head coaching gig in New England was letting go of kicker Nick Folk and keeping rookie Chad Ryland. The veteran signed with the Titans and had one of the best seasons of his career, while Ryland became a weekly liability and cost the Patriots a handful of games during the 2023 season.
That inevitably led to the new regime releasing him this offseason and signing seasoned veteran Joey Slye to become their new kicker.
While his career has been very much up and down since he joined the league in 2019, he has consistently been a team starter in the years since. He outperformed Ryland throughout the summer and proved he could be an upgrade, and for the most part, has held up his end of the bargain through the season so far.
Recently, however, his performance has been more inconsistent and his missed chip shot field goals have become a bit more worrisome. That appears to have led the Patriots to sign free agent kicker John Parker Romo, who spent the season with the Vikings.
The #Patriots are expected to sign K John Parker Romo to the practice squad, one day after he cleared waivers from the #Vikings, sources say. Romo went 11-for-12 on field-goal attempts for Minnesota while Will Reichard was injured. Latches on quickly in New England. pic.twitter.com/rUBe8gEOwY
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 10, 2024
Although he was only signed to the practice squad, Parker Romo's addition to the roster immediately threatens Slye's job stability moving forward. His 78.6 field goal percentage is not up to par, and the Patriots hope that the former Viking will, at the very least, bring some competition to the position.
He had a nearly perfect record as the Vikings backup kicker, taking over for injured Will Reichard in November. He missed just one field goal and one extra point, a much better completion percentage than Slye and a much smaller sample size.
Presumably, the Patriots hope to get the best out of the 27-year-old. They could find their long-term solution at kicker, with Slye having only signed a one-year contract, and, in the meantime, hope that Parker Romo's addition will add the competitive factor that maybe Slye needs to thrive even more for the team the rest of the season.
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