FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ The New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at 4:25 p.m. and as of noon Friday, they don’t have a kicker.
“We’ll see how it goes. We’ll just have to see how it goes,” Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said at his Friday morning press conference. “We’ll go with what we’ve got or we’ll see how it goes.”
Before the press conference started, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted the Patriots were expected to bring Nick Folk back. Rapoport amended the tweet after Belichick didn’t confirm the report at the press conference, then reported the Patriots were bringing Folk in to kick to see if he could play Sunday.
Tuesday it was reported the Patriots tried to sign Chase McLaughlin, who was cut by the San Francisco 49ers. The Indianapolis Colts put in a waiver claim to get McLaughlin with Adam Vinatieri ruled out for this weekend.
Folk had an appendectomy on Thanksgiving morning and the team went with Kai Forbath, who promptly yanked an extra point in the team’s 28-22 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday night. It was the second time in his career Forbath missed an extra point in Houston and he was cut Monday.
So who’s going to kick? It’s a good question. The expected recovery time from a laparoscopic appendectomy is 1-3 weeks, but that’s for common folk, not NFL kickers.
The next option would be punter Jake Bailey. The rookie has been solid on kickoffs this season and established himself as one of the best punters in the NFL. He didn’t kick extra points or field goals at Stanford, but his college bio says he went 12 of 16 on FG attempts in high school, including three from 50-plus with a long of 54.
Options after Bailey are limited. In 2010 Wes Welker was used in an emergency basis when Stephen Gostkowski was hurt in the Patriots’ 34-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
“We were just talking about him the other day. We’re going to see if we can round him up,” Belichick joked.
COLTS: Indianapolis will be without kicker Adam Vinatieri and Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton this weekend at Tampa Bay.
Vinatieri was limited in practice Wednesday and didn’t work out Thursday or Friday because of a left knee injury. The NFL’s career scoring leader has missed 14 kicks this season – eight field goals and six extra points.
Indy (6-6) claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers this week and he’ll will replace the 46-year-old Vinatieri.
FALCONS: Receiver Julio Jones, tight end Austin Hooper and first-round pick Chris Lindstrom are returning to the Atlanta Falcons’ offense for Sunday’s game against Carolina.
JETS: New York will likely be without Jamal Adams and Brian Poole in their secondary against Miami.
Their backfield could also be missing Le’Veon Bell, who was sent home Friday with an illness that sidelined him for two practices.
TITANS: Tennessee has ruled out cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and LeShaun Sims, as well as wide receiver Adam Humphries and linebacker Daren Bates for its game Sunday.
BRONCOS: Von Miller said he will test his injured left knee before Denver’s game at Houston to see if he’ll be able to start a new streak. He sat out last week against the Chargers, ending a 95-game starting streak that dated to the 2014 opener.
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