Jerod Mayo Dubs Patriots' Starting Kicker Competition as 'Wide-Open'

The New England Patriots are in the midst of shuffling around their roster ahead of next season.

Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots kicker Chad Ryland (37) and punter Bryce Baringer (17) walk to the practice fields for minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

There's a collection of position battles taking place around the New England Patriots roster during the early motions of pre-season and training camp, with one of those lying within this team's plans at starting kicker.

New England enter the year with two kickers on the roster in Joey Slye and returning second-year Patriot Chad Ryland, who comes off a shaky campaign after being a fourth-round pick in 2023. Ryland posted the league's worst FG% through 17 games at 64.0% and will have to make a noticeable impression heading into this season to secure a spot on the 53-man.

And as we get closer to the Patriots' inevitable roster cut date before the start of next season, the results of how this potential starting kicker dilemma will shake out remain largely in the air, especially when asking New England head coach Jerod Mayo.

During Friday's press conference with Mayo after the Patriots' first preseason game vs. the Carolina Panthers, the first-year head coach was asked about the current state of the team's pending kicking battle, relaying it's a "wide-open competition" that both Slye and Ryland have open opportunity of winning:

Yeah, [Joey] Slye and Chad [Ryland], those guys are competing. Once again, the game is a small part, and there's nothing more important than practice. So, we try to put a lot of stress on those kickers. It's still a wide-open competition, and I look forward to seeing who wins that competition."

- Jerod Mayo on Patriots' K competition

With two preseason games, and a whole lot of practice between now and the start of the regular season, there's a ton of time to see who's deserving of that roster spot.

In the Patriots' first pre-season game, the team split their reps, giving Ryland the chance to knock down each of New England's extra point attempts on the night, while Slye drilled the only FG and was out for the first kickoff of the night. However, as Mayo said, the game is a small portion of what goes into the selection process for the starting kicker, with a large emphasis being held on what goes down in practice.

Ryland may hold the better long-term upside as the younger, fourth-round pick from just a year ago, but Slye is a tested veteran coming off a better performance across last season. Regardless, the Patriots have until the NFL's roster cut date of August 27th to sort out their plans for the position.

The next chance to see both candidates in action in-game will come next week as the Philadelphia Eagles travel to New England for their second preseason matchup of the year, kicking off at 7 PM ET.

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