Patriots Expected To Release Nick Folk
Cam Newton isn’t the only long-time veteran getting the boot from the Patriots on Tuesday. New England is expected to make rookie Quinn Nordin their new kicker, thus paving the way for the release of Nick Folk, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
Folk entered the league back in 2007 and spent his first few years as the Cowboys’ kicker, although he’s most well-known for being the Jets’ kicker for seven seasons from 2010-16. After his last season with New York he had a few games with the Bucs, but then found himself out of the league.
After spending all of 2018 out of football, he signed with the ill-fated AAF in 2019. He managed to find his way back to the NFL in October of 2019 when the Patriots cut Mike Nugent, and he was the kicker in all 16 of New England’s games last year. He was solid, making 26 of 28 field goals and 30 of 33 extra point attempts.
Nonetheless he’s never had the biggest leg, and it seems like Bill Belichick wanted a younger option with more upside. Folk will turn 37 in November. Nordin is an UDFA rookie from Michigan.
Patriots To Re-Sign K Nick Folk
The Patriots have added plenty of free agents from outside the organization this week, but they’re also keeping some of their own guys. New England is re-signing kicker Nick Folk to a one-year deal, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Yates reports that it comes with $1.225MM guaranteed. Meanwhile, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets that the deal has a $1.625MM base value, comes with a $125K signing bonus, and can be worth up to $2.5MM with incentives. After Stephen Gostkowski missed most of the 2019 season and was then released, the Pats have had a bit of an unstable kicking situation the past couple years.
They cycled through a few options, but now may have solved things with Folk. The former Cowboys and Jets kicker was out of the league for a little bit, and even spent some time with the Arizona Hotshots of the ill-fated AAF. He latched on for a handful of games with New England in 2019, then was signed again last August.
He ended up kicking in all 16 games last year, making 26 of 28 field goal attempts and 30 of 33 extra point attempts. Folk turned 36 in November.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/16/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: S Curtis Riley (off Steelers‘ practice squad)
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: LB Montrel Meander
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Chris Jones
- Promoted: WR Daurice Fountain
Las Vegas Raiders
- Waived: S Dallin Leavitt
New England Patriots
- Promoted: CB Myles Bryant, K Nick Folk
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Ken Webster
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Many of these roster decisions involve practice squad promotions. Under the new CBA, teams are permitted to promote two P-squad players without corresponding roster moves per week. Teams can carry 55 players on their rosters for game days and can have up to 48 active.
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: RB D.J. Foster
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Jordan Richards
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: K Cairo Santos
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Amani Bledsoe, S Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Robert Jackson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: G Kenny Wiggins, RB Jonathan Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Krys Barnes
- Promoted: LB Tipa Galeai, TE John Lovett
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: RB Nathan Cottrell, TE Ben Ellefson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: G Ryan Groy, FB Gabe Nabers
Miami Dolphins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Nate Brooks
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson
- Signed: DB Nate Meadors
New England Patriots
- Promoted: K Nick Folk, DT Xavier Williams
- Placed on IR: WR Gunner Olszewski
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: WR Bennie Fowler, DL Margus Hunt
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DE Anthony Lanier
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
- Promoted: RB Josh Adams, WR Josh Malone
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: DT T.Y. McGill, G Sua Opeta
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: C Hroniss Grasu, CB Dontae Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: T Chad Wheeler
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson, DB Mazzi Wilkins
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Cam Sims
Patriots Sign Nick Folk
The Patriots have signed Nick Folk, per a club announcement. The veteran will return to New England and compete with fifth-round rookie Justin Rohrwasser for the kicking job.
[RELATED: Latest On Cam Newton]
Folk went 14-of-17 on field goal tries for the Pats last year and nailed all 12 of his extra point attempts. The 35-year-old took the field for seven Patriots regular season games, plus the team’s playoff loss to the Titans. Folk has been somewhat in demand lately – the Browns also met with him recently as they consider competition for second-year pro Austin Seibert.
The Patriots also added some defensive line depth by signing Michael Barnett, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia. Both players will make their case in the coming days as we head towards the roster deadline.
Patriots Meet With Nick Folk
The Patriots met with Nick Folk this weekend, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic (on Twitter). Folk could be considered as an alternative to rookie Justin Rohrwasser, who has reportedly been a bit shaky in camp.
[RELATED: Browns Work Out Folk, Parkey]
Folk, 35, briefly put a stop to the Patriots’ revolving door of kickers last year before taking a break of his own for an appendectomy. All in all, he appeared in seven games for the Pats while connecting on all 14 of his 17 field goal tries. The Browns also met with Folk recently, plus a host of other kickers including Kai Forbath, Cody Parkey and Matthew McCrane. The Browns have a young kicker of their own in Austin Seibert, but the former Oklahoma Sooner missed five extra point tries in 2019.
In other Pats news, the club has given a slight salary bump to durable defensive lineman Lawrence Guy. They’re also exploring additional depth for that unit, including a recent workout with former Chiefs and Cardinals DL Xavier Williams.
Browns Work Out Folk, Parkey, Others
The Browns may be holding a kicker competition. They brought in Nick Folk, Kai Forbath, Cody Parkey and Matthew McCrane for workouts Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Austin Seibert resides as Cleveland’s incumbent kicker. He kicked for the Browns last season, going 25-for-29. The ex-Oklahoma Sooner did miss five extra points, however, and may be on the verge of a training camp battle.
Cleveland has not seen much continuity at kicker lately. The team has changed kickers in each of the past four years, with Zane Gonzalez and Greg Joseph enjoying one-season stays. Seibert beat out Joseph last summer.
Folk has the most experience of the tryout legs, having kicked in the NFL since 2007. The 35-year-old specialist kicked in seven Patriots games last season. Parkey, whose “double doink” miss in a 2018 wild-card game set off rampant Bears kicker uncertainty, resurfaced in three Titans games last season. He made 3 of 3 field goals during that stay. Both Folk and Parkey made Pro Bowls as rookies — in 2007 and ’14, respectively.
Forbath was also part of the Pats’ post-Stephen Gostkowski kicker shuffle; he also kicked in three Cowboys games in 2019. McCrane did not play last season but kicked in four games as a rookie in 2018.
Patriots Waive DT Albert Huggins, Re-Sign K Nick Folk
Albert Huggins‘ stint with the Patriots lasted less than one week. The Patriots waived the rookie defensive tackle this morning, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The team will use the roster spot on kicker Nick Folk, who the team officially re-signed.
Huggins joined the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Clemson. He landed on Houston’s practice squad at the end of the preseason, and he was later signed to the Eagles active roster. The 22-year-old ended up appearing in four games for Philly, compiling three tackles. He was waived by the Eagles last weekend, and the Patriots claimed him on Monday. ESPN’s Mike Reiss suggests that Huggins could be a candidate for New England’s practice squad (Twitter link).
Folk was cut last week after undergoing an appendectomy, but the team’s decision to waive fill-in Kai Forbath indicated that the veteran would be ready for tomorrow’s matchup against the Chiefs. However, the Patriots practiced two straight days without a kicker, leading some to wonder whether the team was actually going to go in a different direction.
We heard last night that the deal had been agreed to. With the Pats, Folk has connected on 7-of-9 field goal tries and all three of his extra point attempts across three games. Two of those misses came last month against the Cowboys, but the Pats still came away with the 13-9 win, with Folk’s 42-yard connection in the fourth quarter helping to seal the deal. In total, the Pats have used four kickers this season: Stephen Gostkowski, Mike Nugent, Folk, and Forbath.
Patriots To Re-Sign Nick Folk
Nick Folk is back. On Friday, the Patriots worked out the veteran kicker after one week away from the team and agreed to re-sign him (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The deal will be formally signed on Saturday.
Folk missed last week due to an appendectomy, but he’s all healed up from the minor surgery and ready to retake the field. Kai Forbath was signed as a one-game replacement for Folk against the Texans, but received his pink slip earlier this week.
With the Pats, Folk has connected on 7-of-9 field goal tries and all three of his extra point attempts across three games. Two of those misses came last month against the Cowboys, but the Pats still came away with the 13-9 win, with Folk’s 42-yard connection in the fourth quarter helping to seal the deal.
In total, the Pats have used four kickers this season: Stephen Gostkowski, Mike Nugent, Folk, and Forbath. Even after Sunday’s loss to the Texans, they’re 10-2 on the year with yet another AFC East title all but sealed.
Patriots’ Nick Folk To Miss Time
The Patriots, once again, are in search of a new kicker. Nick Folk recently had an appendectomy that will prevent him from playing this week, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Word of Folk’s surgery was first reported by Mike Petraglia of CLNS (on Twitter).
The surgery was done laparoscopically, which should mean a short recovery time and only one missed game for Folk. Still, the Pats will need a leg to fill in for Sunday’s game against the Texans.
The Patriots’ kicker role has been in flux ever since Stephen Gostkowski‘s season-ending hip surgery. After Gostkowski hit the IR, the club turned to Mike Nugent, but he was replaced by Folk after missing two field goal tries against the Browns. Even though the Pats won that game to advance to 8-0, Bill Belichick bounced him in favor of Folk.
With the Pats, Folk has connected on 7-of-9 field goal tries and all three of his extra point attempts across three games. Two of those misses came on Sunday against the Cowboys, but the Pats still came away with the 13-9 win, with Folk’s 42-yard connection in the fourth quarter helping to seal the deal.