The New England Patriots lost a couple of key veterans this offseason. Obviously, Tom Brady was one of them. The 20-year Patriot defected in free agency to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in hopes that he can prove he's a winner outside of New England.
But another understated loss was that of Stephen Gostkowski. The long-time Patriots kicker was released during the offseason and the 36-year-old will be looking to latch onto a new team at some point in the not-so-distant future.
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Gostkowski is currently rehabbing from left hip surgery that sidelined him for 12 games last season, but he's hoping that he'll have a chance to get involved in a kicker battle once training camp rolls around.
"No one is practicing right now, so it's not like I'm missing competing with someone in OTAs. If things work out like I think they will, I'll have an opportunity around training camp, whenever the NFL decides that will be," Gostkowski said per ESPN's Mike Reiss. "I want to try to find a place where I can have a chance to compete. With the kicker position, there's usually two, three, four spots that are up in the air, but you just have to find the right place."
It stands to reason that Gostkowski will eventually find work. He's among the most proven veteran kickers on the market so if a team has issues at the position, Gostkowski could get the call. He went 7 of 8 on field goals last year and has made 87.4 percent of his career field goals. If he's healthy, he should still be a fine kicker to keep around.
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Of course, Gostkowski finding that place may be a bit more difficult with team facilities currently shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. But as he mentioned, he may have a chance to pick his destination once camps are up and running again. And that will afford him a chance to land in the right place.
The Patriots won't be needing Gostkowski's services anymore. They spent a fifth-round pick on Marshall kicker Justin Rohrwasser in hopes that he can be the next in a 25-year span of great Patriots kicking between Gostkowski and Adam Vinatieri.
Rohrwasser went 18 of 21 during his final season at Marshall and had one of the best performances of his career in a rivalry game against Western Kentucky. If he can be as clutch as he was on that occasion, he should work out well as a replacement for the Patriots' all-time leading scorer.