When Stephen Gostkowski was placed on injured reserve because of a season-ending hip injury, the New England Patriots brought numerous kickers in for tryouts with one of them emerging victoriously: the team signed Mike Nugent to replace Gostkowski as the place kicker, with punter Jake Bailey taking over kickoff duties. Four games later, however, it appears the Patriots’ kicking operation will see another shakeup.
As first reported by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the team has informed Nugent that he will be released later today. During his four games since coming to New England as a free agency signing, the 37-year-old was mildly successful: he attempted eight field goals and was successful on just five of them — one of the misses was a block just this Sunday — for a rate of 62.