Patriots reportedly host 5 kickers for workouts after Chad Ryland’s latest miss
"This is two weeks in a row we've basically missed extra points. So, it's not good enough."
Could Chad Ryland’s days with the Patriots already be numbered?
It hasn’t been an easy transition to the NFL ranks for the rookie kicker, who missed a potential game-tying field goal with six seconds left in New England’s eventual 10-7 loss to the Giants on Sunday afternoon.
Ryland, who was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, has only connected on 12 of his 18 field-goal attempts (66.7 percent) over 11 games.
And while most of the discourse surrounding New England’s roster has centered around Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and the Patriots’ lackluster quarterback personnel, it seems like the Patriots are also assessing their options at kicker over the final stretch of the 2023 season.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots hosted five kickers for workouts on Tuesday: Tanner Brown, Parker White, Matthew McCrane, John Parker Romo, and B.T. Potter.
New England also hosted wide receivers Kaylon Geiger, Kalil Pimpleton, and Matthew Sexton, punters Michael Turk, Corliss Waitman and Ty Zentner, and long snappers Dalton Godfrey and Carson Tinker, per Reiss.
There is no guarantee that any workouts will lead to New England signing players to its roster.
But it should come as no surprise that the Patriots’ latest free-agent visitors featured several kickers amid Ryland’s extended struggles this season.
Speaking on WEEI Monday, Bill Belichick was blunt in his assessment of Ryland’s play so far this season.
“Yeah, I mean, Chad’s a very talented player,” Belichick said during his weekly spot on “The Greg Hill Show”. “But this is two weeks in a row we’ve basically missed extra points. So, it’s not good enough.”
Along with his missed field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter, concerns over Ryland’s play also prompted New England to choose to not kick a field goal from the Giants’ 37-yard line on Sunday, a kick which would have been a 55-yard attempt. Ryland has made only one successful field goal beyond 50 yards this season.
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