On the third day of the 2020 NFL draft, the New England Patriots decided to address their most obvious need and only glaring hole on the roster: they filled the void created by the release of veteran Stephen Gostkowski by selecting Marshall place kicker Justin Rohrwasser with the 159th overall selection. Rohrwasser may have been flying under the radar entering the draft, but he brings plenty of impressive traits to the table that should help him succeed as the eventual heir to Gostkowski and Adam Vinatieri.
His strong leg and confidence in high-pressure and bad-weather situations can be pointed out as an example — something that can also be said about his injury history or the lack thereof:
Injury history
N/A: Between his stints at Marshall (2018-19) and Rhode Island (2015-16), Rohrwasser appeared in 47 of a possible 48 games. While he did miss one game during his true freshman season, he did not deal with any reported injury throughout his college career and therefore has no medical history to speak of. The only history that did come up was a broken arm he suffered “when he was eight or nine years old” — according to his father (via Chuck McGill of HerdZone.com) — that kept him from playing organized soccer.
What this means for the Patriots
The kicker position is usually one of the safest in football when it comes to injury risk, and Rohrwasser’s career so far is proof of that. He therefore enters the pro level as clean from a medical perspective as any player could be, meaning that the Patriots have nothing to worry about heading into the 2020 season. Of course, things can change quickly even at the place kicker position — Gostkowski ending two of his 14 seasons in New England on injured reserve is a good example of that.
In Gostkowski’s case, however, both injuries can best be described as freak accidents: he suffered a thigh injury in 2010 that later turned out to be a torn quadriceps muscle, and just last year hurt his hip on a kick coverage drill. Injuries like that can happen to any player, including Rohrwasser, but the fifth-round pick brings a strong frame — he is measured at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds according to the Patriots’ official player list — as well as a clean bill to the table and thus a strong foundation to work with.