Andy Borregales or Parker Romo: Who will win the Patriots kicker battle?
The Patriots have a lot of roster decisions to make ahead of Tuesday's cut-down deadline. While battles among New England's wide receivers and offensive linemen have demanded much of the attention this summer, the kicker battle between Andy Borregales and Parker Romo still remains unsolved after the Patriots wrapped up their preseason slate Thursday night.
The competition remains open mostly due to Borregales' struggles in the final two preseason games. Meanwhile, Romo remained steady when he was called upon to put the ball through the uprights.
The rookie Borregales came into camp as the favorite given the Patriots just used a sixth-round pick to bring him in. But Romo was perfect in his preseason tries and consistent throughout camp, which will make the kicker decision much harder than it should be for Mike Vrabel and company.
Both got one field goal attempt in the preseason opener against the Commanders. Borregales connected on a 22 yarder, while Romo nailed a 57-yard field goal. Both went 3-for-3 on their extra-point attempts in the opener.
Borregales got his shot at 57-yard attempt in Minnesota against the Vikings, but it was a complete mess. He was late to get on the field and had to rush the process, and Borregales missed badly wide left. He made up for it with a 51-yard field goal later in the game, but Romo connected on his only attempt from 22 yards out.
In Thursday's finale, Borregales was the only kicker sent out by Vrabel. The rookie hit a 30 yarder, but missed his first attempt from 49 yards out when he sent the kick wide right.
After the game, Vrabel didn't mince words about Borregales' miss.
"I think he's hitting the ball okay. We expect to make those kicks," Vrabel said after the 42-10 loss. "We'll have to see how this thing plays out. We have two kickers that we have a lot of faith in."
Romo hit both of his field goal attempts and both of his extra points in the preseason. Borregales connected on all four of his extra points, but was 3-for-5 on his field goals.
Borregales could still be New England's guy, considering the Patriots drafted him and he was one of the best kickers in college in 2024. Borregales earned First-team All-ACC honors while at Miami in each of the last two seasons.
But he still had to come in and earn the kicker job for New England, and Thursday night's miss opened the door for the Patriots to go with Romo. With questions about the offensive line and Drake Maye's arsenal -- and Maye himself -- the Patriots cannot afford to leave points on the field on special teams.
While the competition at kicker may not have commanded the attention of other roster battles in New England, it's still an important decision Vrabel will have to make before Tuesday's 4 p.m. roster deadline.