Patriots Cut Longtime Kicker Stephen Gostkowski
Right now, the coronavirus outbreak has taken up much of the news cycle (rightfully so). For me, a way to take my mind off of the ongoing pandemic is to dive into sports. No sports are actually being played, but the NFL offseason remains in full swing. Moves have been plentiful, and that didn’t stop this morning as the New England Patriots have cut longtime kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
Stephen Gostkowski career resume:
– 4x Pro Bowl
– 3x Super Bowl champ
– 2x All-Pro
– Patriots all-time scoring leader (1,775 points)
– 87.4% FG (5th all-time)
– 41/42 (97.6%) on FGs to tie/take the lead in Q4/OT— Tucker Boynton (@Tucker_TnL) March 23, 2020
Gostkowski, 36, spent 14 seasons with New England, the last of which (2019) was cut short due to hip surgery. Throughout his tenure, Gostkowksi was – for the most part – great. There was a stretch from 2013 to 2015 where Gostkowksi converted 93% of his field goal attempts. That includes him going 10 for 12 on kicks with a distance of 50+ yards. He was essentially neck and neck with Justin Tucker for the unofficial title of “best kicker in the league”.
Still, there were points of inconsistency were Patriot fans were calling for the kicker’s head. That was especially true this past season when Gostkowski missed four extra points in the four games he played. Only Gostkowski knows how much his injury actually affected him, but that may have been the last straw for Belichick to decide it was time to move on.
Regardless of how you feel about Gostkowski, credit should be given to the former Memphis Tiger for coming in and replacing legend Adam Vinateri right away. I can’t imagine it being an easy task for him to replace the kicker who helped New England win three Super Bowl titles. But Gostkowski did one hell of a job, contributing to three Super Bowls of his own. And with Tom Brady leaving and Gostkowski now being cut, it is a definitely a new era in New England.
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