Report: Patriots place franchise tag on K Stephen Gostkowski

The New England Patriots have placed their franchise tag on kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

The New England Patriots have placed their franchise tag on kicker Stephen Gostkowski, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Under the NFL's $143.28 million salary cap for 2015 that was announced earlier on Monday, kickers will make $4.1 million from the franchise tag, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

• 2015 franchise tag tracker

[daily_cut.nfl]Gostkowski, 31, has played nine seasons with the Patriots, joining the team as a fourth-round pick out of Memphis in 2006. In 2014, Gostkowski made a league-high 35 of 37 field goal attempts (94.6 percent) for the Super Bowl-champion Patriots. In his career, he has made 243 of 280 attempts (86.8 percent).

The Patriots have now used the franchise tag on a kicker three times after tagging Adam Vinatieri in both 2002 and 2005.

Patriots safety Devin McCourty was previously considered a candidate to receive the Patriots' franchise tag, but could instead hit the free-agent market. Safeties will be paid $9.6 million under the franchise tag in 2015.

- Mike Fiammetta