The New England Patriots’ had their fair share of short- and long-term injuries during the 2019 season. One of the most prominent players to end his campaign on the sidelines is kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who was placed on injured reserve in October after hurting his hip. With the veteran unavailable, the Patriots had to use three other kickers — Mike Nugent, Kai Forbath, Nick Folk — before ending the season with Folk as the final replacement option.
But despite the in-season addition having a solid stint with the Patriots, neither he nor Gostkowski are locks to be on the Patriots’ roster in 2020: Folk is an unrestricted free agent, while Gostkowski is coming off a stint on IR and will hit the team’s books with a salary cap hit of $4.