New England Patriots will be without their starting kicker Stephen Gostkowski for the rest of the season. Patriots announced on Wednesday that they have place Gostowski on the injured reserve as he is scheduled to have a hip surgery.
Although Gostowski can be activated from the IR in eight weeks, multiple reports say that the surgery is season ending. He is, however, expected to make a full recovery in time for the start of 2020 season.
Gostkowski was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of 2006 NFL Draft, and has been the team’s starting kicker ever since. During his time with the organization, he won three Super Bowl rings, made four Pro Bowl appearances, and received two First-Team All-Pro honors.
Gostowski has converted 87.4 percent of his field goals during his time in the league, making 367 FGs out of 420 attempts. He is Pats’ most accurate kicker in the history of the franchise and third most accurate in NFL history.
According to ESPN, Patriots worked out several kickers in recent days before deciding on veteran Mike Nugent. Nugent entered the league in 2005 and has played with New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Oakland Raiders among other teams. Over the course of his career, he made 247 field goals out of 305 attempts.
