The lone member of the New England Patriots’ undrafted class is set to continue a 53-man roster streak that dates back 18 years.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Patriots are “expected to stick” with rookie kicker Quinn Nordin over incumbent Nick Folk to begin the 2021 regular season.
Nordin, 23, signed days after the draft concluded in May. The Michigan product went on to kick in all three preseason games in August, going 6-of-8 on field goals and 4-of-7 on extra points with longs of 48 and 50 yards. He rebounded from missing a trio of attempts from close range against the Philadelphia Eagles to make all but a 54-yard try in the closing seconds of the finale against the New York Giants.
Sunday marked the preseason debut for Folk, who had re-signed to a one-year deal in March featuring $1.225 million guaranteed and got the first look.
“Nick’s got a pretty good level of consistency since we’ve had him,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters on Monday. “He’s been pretty steady. His opportunities were a little bit less. We wanted to give some more opportunities to Quinn. We’ll see how all that goes, but it was a very competitive spot, and it is a competitive spot, and we’ll obviously have to make a decision. It’s good to have that kind of competition and have good players competing.”
Folk, 36, converted 92.9 percent of his field goals and 90.9 percent of his extra points with New England last season. The vested veteran is eligible for the practice squad of 16 under the new collective bargaining agreement and would not be subject to waivers.
A 2007 Pro Bowler, Folk has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Hotshots of the curtailed Alliance of American Football.
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