Patriots bring in competition for punter Ryan Allen by signing undrafted rookie Corey Bojorquez; release wide receiver Darren Andrews

Late last week, the New England Patriots held their 2018 rookie minicamp. Among the players present on the practice fields also were two rookie tryouts in punters Ryan Anderson out of Rutgers and Corey Bojorquez out of New Mexico. And while Anderson failed to earn a spot on the team, Bojorquez will remain in New England as the team announced earlier today.

After serving as New Mexico’s primary punter for the last two seasons, Bojorquez has now signed his first NFL contract. In his final season with the Lobos, the 21-year old kicked the football a total of 67 times for an average of 47.3 yards. 12 of his kicks turned into touchbacks, while 25 were fair-caught. Bojorquez, a left-footed kicker, also has experience serving as a holder on field goal and extra point attempts.

With New England signing the 6'0, 200 lbs punter who started his college career at Cerritos Community College, the team will have two punters on its 90-man offseason roster for the first time since 2013: Back then, the team added Ryan Allen as a free agent to compete against incumbent Zoltan Mestko. Allen won the battle and is serving as the Patriots' punter ever since – a punter whose spot on the team was never really challenged until today.

Now Bojorquez will do just that as he is taking over the 90th spot on the team most recently held by undrafted rookie wide receiver Darren Andrews: The Patriots waived with a non-football injury designation today. Andrews was one of nine undrafted signings last Friday but is apparently not yet ready to perform after tearing his ACL last season.