The Tennessee Titans are no strangers when it comes to needing a reliable kicker, and it appears head coach Mike Vrabel decided to call his former coach to try and acquire one.
According to several reports, the New England Patriots have parted ways with kicker Nick Folk, sending him to the Titans in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick.
Considering what they received in exchange for one of the more reliable kickers in the league, the return seems a little low. At the same time, clubs around the league apparently weren’t clamoring for a 38-year-old placekicker who was terrific for mid-range attempts but has struggled on kickoffs and long-range attempts at times in recent years.
Folk has been fairly consistent since joining the Patriots and was solid again last season. He finished 2022 hitting 32-of-37, including a perfect 18-of-18 on his attempts up to 39 yards. He was 14-of-19 from beyond 49 yards last year, including 4-of-5 from 50+.
He’ll potentially stabilize a kicker position that saw Tennessee go through both Randy Bullock (17/20 [85%] in 2022) and Caleb Shudak (3/4 [75%] in 2022) last season. Michael Badgley held that role this preseason for Tennessee, and he was subsequently released following the news.
Badgley hit 3-of-4 kicks against New England Friday night, hitting from 44, 27, and 33 yards. He did miss one kick, which came on his third attempt from 39-yards out and sailed wide left after Sam Roberts had dropped Malik Willis for a sack and pushed the Titans back far enough that it made it a more challenging field goal for him.
Meanwhile, the Patriots will move forward with rookie fourth-round pick Chad Ryland, who struggled a bit at the end of preseason but otherwise kicked the ball well in camp. He also hit both of his extra-point attempts this preseason.
The former kicker out of Maryland had an impressive resume coming out of college. He finished his final senior season hitting 19-of-23 (82.6%), including a perfect 9-9 from inside 40-yards, and ended the year with his percentage setting the school mark for players with 20+ attempts.
He’s also hit multiple game-winning kicks over the course of his career, which shows he’s not afraid of being put in pressure situations. At the same time, let’s just hope it translates to the next level here in the NFL here with the Patriots.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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