Patriots release K Stephen Gostkowski

Stephen Gostkowski last kicked against the LA Rams on February 3, 2019. He went 2-of-3 on field goals, scoring the first and last points of Super Bowl LIII. As of Monday, the now-former New England Patriots kicker is a free agent and the Rams so happen to be looking for the right person to attempt their field goals and PATs next season.

The Patriots released the 36-year-old Gostkowski on Monday, ending a 14-year run with the team that included four trips to the Pro Bowl and two first team All-Pro nods.

One reason for Gostkowski’s downward slope with New England was injuries as he missed 12 games after being placed on injured reserve with a hip injury. He had made 7-of-8 attempts prior to that and then the Patriots turned to Nick Folk, Mike Nugent, and Kai Forbath. Folk was the steadiest, going 14-of-17 in seven games.

The Rams would not typically be in the market for a kicker but Greg Zuerlein, 32, remains a free agent. Los Angeles lacks cap space relative to other teams and Gostkowski, who was set to count $4.8 million against New England’s cap, could be a cheaper veteran option because of age and injury. That also means that there is more risk but Gostkowski would normally be a rather attractive replacement for the one-time All-Pro Zuerlein.

It is also possible that the Patriots would be entertaining the addition of Zuerlein by releasing Gostkowski.

If you can believe it, Gostkowski once replaced Adam Vinatieri in New England at a time when Vinatieri went to the Indianapolis Colts at age 34. So Vinatieri was two years older than Zuerlein is now and two years younger than Gostkowski is now when that happened. One of the only other potential free agent options for teams in the year 2020?

Adam Vinatieri, 47, who went 17-of-25 for the Colts last season.