Patriots Sign Kicker Mike Nugent
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots have found their next kicker.
One day after placing Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve, the team signed veteran free agent Mike Nugent.
Nugent was present for the Patriots' practice on Thursday.
The 37-year-old Nugent played in three games for Oakland last year, going 6-for-6 on field goal attempts and 4-for-5 on PATs. He played in eight games the year prior, split between the Bears and Cowboys, and he went 11-for-13 on field goals and 15-for-17 on PATs.
Originally drafted in the second round back in 2005 by the Jets, this will be Nugent's 15th NFL season. He's played for the Jets, Cardinals, Bucaneers, Bengals, Bears, Cowboys and Raiders. He also spent the preseason of 2017 with the Giants.
In his career, he's successfully kicked 81.4 percent of his field goals overall, and 85.4 percent of his field-goal attempts under 50 yards. Since the NFL moved PATs back in 2015, he's gone 90-for-100 on PATs.
He's played in just five playoff games in his career, successfully kicking seven of his eight field goals and all five of his PAT attempts.
The Patriots brought in a long list of kickers for workouts following the injury to Gostkowski, with candidates ranging from NFL veterans like Nugent to YouTube trick shot artists with no NFL experience. Ultimately, experience won out, as the Patriots are going with a kicker they've seen in person 11 times during his career.
Additionally, the Patriots are reportedly signing Younghoe Koo to the practice squad, as a backup plan of sorts, according to Adam Schefter. Koo played in four games for the Chargers in 2017, going just 3-for-6 on field goals but 9-for-9 on PATs.
