Since Bill Belichick decided to move on from longtime kicker Stephen Gostkowski, the Patriots have struggled to find a reliable option to replace him. They were fortunate to have Nick Folk on the team for four years, some of which were the best of his career. But the choice to keep rookie Chad Ryland over the trusted veteran immediately backfired in a way that has taken too long to recover from.
That led to the signing of the well-traveled Joey Slye last year, who began his Patriots tenure looking like their special teams saving grace, only to eventually struggle as the season progressed and became more of a liability than a help.