The New England Patriots are giving a trick-shot kicker a tryout, per an ABC affiliate in Nebraska and as noted by ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Nebraska Danger kicker Josh Gable of the Indoor Football League (IFL) is a former soccer player that played in Europe “for a few years” before signing with the IFL for the past three seasons where he’s 29 for 80 on field goals and 104 of 131 on extra points.
While that sounds unimpressive, note that the IFL’s uprights are half the width of the NFL uprights, which makes it far more difficult to convert kicks. Those rates should theoretically skyrocket on an NFL field.
The Patriots aren’t really on the market for a kicker, despite Stephen Gostkowski’s struggles early in 2016, but it doesn’t hurt to bring in extra competition and a camp leg.
Gable’s most relevant skill is his ability to kick an 80-yard field goal, which would be an incredible asset if he could deliver consistently (he probably cannot).
Think about it: an 80-yard field goal comes from a team’s own 37 yard line. This means that if the drive starts on a touchback, the offense needs to gain just 12 yards to get into scoring range. That’d be ridiculous and the smallest chance that Gable can deliver on those kicks is reason enough to bring him in to camp.