Patriots plan to set up kicker competition heading into 2025

On Friday, New England Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer shared that the team will add a kicker to the roster this offseason, setting up a kicking competition for training camp this summer. With Joey Slye signing with the Tennessee Titans in free agency, the New England Patriots will have a new kicker in 2025. Who will that kicker be? It's too early to say. Right now the Patriots have just one kicker on their roster. That's John Parker Romo, who signed with the team on the practice squad back in December. He didn't appear in any games for the Patriots, but signed a futures contract with the team after the season. Romo's NFL experience is limited. He's appeared in just four NFL games, hitting 11 of his 12 field goal attempts including 5-of-6 from 40-plus yards during a brief stint with the Minnesota Vikings last year. Romo, 27, entered the NFL as a UDFA out of Virginia Tech in 2022 and has spent time on other teams' practice squads, as well as a stint with the San Antonio Brahmas of the then-XFL. While Romo looks to secure his first full-time kicking job in the NFL, he will have competition. That competition isn't on the roster right now, but special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer says the team does plan to add at the position before practices begin. Jeremy Springer is looking to create a kicking competition for the Patriots. "We got John Parker on the roster. He knows already that we're gonna bring in somebody else - however that process is - to compete to win this job," Springer shared when speaking to reporters on Friday. "I fully expect Parker to embrace that, which he will. And then whoever comes in as new - to embrace that." That would make it two years in a row the Patriots have had a kicking competition in camp. Last year, Slye beat out 2023 fourth-round draft pick Chad Ryland. As for where that new kicker will come from this time, that's still to be determined. "Me and my assistant coach [Dan] Quinn, we've even been checking out the guys," Springer shared. "We've seen probably every kicker in the country, I think, by now. So we got a good foundation on what's out there, whether it's draftable or it's free agent, what not." "Whatever process we go down, when we get to draft weekend and/or post draft, we'll approach it and that's why we have a plan for all of it," he added. "Draft, not draft, free agent. We have a plan in place for each of those processes so that we can get the right guy in." Whether it be a veteran or a rookie, Springer shared what he'll be looking for in any kicker the Patriots add. "Well, first and foremost, the character part of it is really important. I don't want just a kicker. I want a guy that's gonna be great in the locker room," he said. "After that, it's consistently through college and/or in the NFL whether it's a free agent and/or it's college kid, it doesn't matter," Springer continued. "I don' know who we're gonna get yet, we're going through that process. But his consistency the ball rotation the ball flight and - the kickoff part of it." WATCH: Latest Patriots draft intel from Albert Breer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZmvNEexPO4 Click here to subscribe to the Sports Hub YouTube channel One thing the Patriots may not be looking at as closely when adding a kicker this time around is experience in inclement weather. That's something the team has historically made a factor, but Springer downplayed it as a variable when asked on Friday. "I weigh it in and that's why I go work them out because I want to see - not just off the sticks. I want see what he does outside or I want throw a little pressure on the guy," he explained. "Sometimes that doesn't always equate." "If this kid kicks in Arizona or a kid kicks California where the weather is always nice, you can still go watch him and see how the ball rotates, how high it gets, versus a guy who might have kicked in Michigan and yeah, he makes every kick but the ball's low and it kind of curves in," he continued. "That doesn't really equate to a better kicker at this level. So I think the workout in person, wherever they kick in the country, I think just me seeing in person is really important." That should open up the Patriots' options more as they look for the kicker to compete with Romo. The free agency pool is relatively thin right now, highlighted by Nick Folk and Eddy Pinero. Given the lack of options in the veteran market, it might make more sense for the Patriots to add a rookie - either as a draft pick or UDFA. If that's the path they go, they'll have a couple of options. The two top kickers in this draft are Andres Borregales from Miami and Ben Sauls from Pitt. Both are projected to be late Day 3 picks. Andres Borregales is one of the top kickers in the 2025 NFL Draft. With Springer noting consistency will be a key for him, Borregales is a natural fit. He hit 86% of his kicks in college as a four-year starter, including going 40-of-45 over the last two years. For his career he went 17-of-21 from the important 40-49 yard range, and was 7-of-10 from 50-plus. Sauls has more than just experience in inclement weather. Over the past three years he's spent his home games at Acrisure Stadium, which as the home of the Steelers is often cited as one of the most difficult stadiums for kickers in the NFL. He hasn't been as consistent as Borregales with a down year in 2023, but bounced back in a big way last year hitting 87.5% of his field goals including going 7-of-9 from 40-49 yards and 6-of-7 from 50-plus. Sauls has worked with Springer in the past. Other notable kickers in this draft include Ryan Fitzgerald from Florida State, Tyler Loop from Arizona, Jonah Dalmas from Boise State, and Caden Davis from Ole Miss. They are projected to go undrafted.