Bill Belichick Shares Update on New England Patriots Kicker Battle

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick provided an update on the kicker position. Nick Folk and Justin Rohrwasser took part in a roster battle in training camp. Coach Belichick has yet to make a decision on the potential winner. Belichick said the gap between Folk and the rookie is a bit narrow.

Rohrwasser is a fifth-round selection for the Patriots. He was the first kicker teams selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. But the Pats also re-signed Folk after the Marshall player struggled in the opening week of training camp.

Analysts see Folk as a competent kicker. Rohrwasser wasn’t completely healthy in training camp and he lacks consistency. In the final two sessions, the rookie converted 4 of 11 field-goals. Rohrwasser had several misses in simulated crunch-time plays.

The Patriots may have a favorite kicker

The 35-year-old kicker may look like a favorite at this point. Belichick will probably take into consideration Rohrwasser’s long-term potential.

“It’s a similar decision I think that every team that I’ve ever been on has come up, where you have a veteran player with experience and a very accomplished career, with a younger player with potentially a long career ahead of him that has less experience,” the Patriots head coach said. “And they at this particular point in time you just have to see where you feel like the competition is, but then also look at it and say, ‘OK, where are things going to be halfway through the season, where are things going to be a year from now, or maybe two years from now?’

“And so, then that changes sometimes the evaluation. Now those are projections and there’s no certainty there. But when you look at players that we’ve had on our team — James White would be a good example of a player that didn’t play his rookie year. I think he was only active for a game or two. Obviously, Brady never played (much as a rookie).”

Belichick is well aware of the fact that he can’t have all the players all the time. The NFL is nothing like college. Every coach faces a big challenge. Coaches have to make a big decision, and they may be right or wrong.