How Nick Folk Felt About Patriots Trading Up To Draft New Kicker

FOXBORO, Mass. — Everyone wants to talk about the possibility of a Patriots quarterback competition this summer, and for good reason. But don’t sleep on the kicker battle.

Veteran Nick Folk, who’s been in New England since midway through the 2019 season, is looking to prove himself against rookie Chad Ryland. The Patriots traded up in Round 4 of the 2023 NFL Draft to select Ryland, who was viewed as one of the two best kickers available.

So, what was Folk’s reaction upon learning the Patriots drafted his potential replacement?

“Let’s go have some fun — that’s it,” the 38-year-old said after Tuesday’s minicamp practice. “Let’s go have fun. I kind of think about it always, but I’m always competing, whether there’s someone here or not. Competing against yourself, competing against other guys around the league. So, let’s go have a good time, put your best foot forward and see what happens.”

Folk also was asked whether he’s taken on a leadership role as Ryland gets his first taste of life in the NFL. He could’ve taken the bait and offered some platitudes on mentorship and paying it forward, but instead made it clear his goal is to keep his job.

“I mean, he’s a good, talented kicker,” Folk said. “I’m kind of focused on myself. If I can do my part to help this team win games, that’s kind of where my focus is. So, just kind of focused on building a good rapport with Joe (Judge) and the two holders, trying to get some good work in there.”

“Let’s go have some fun”

Nick Folk on Patriots’ kicker competition

Folk and Ryland both kicked the ball well during OTA and minicamp practices open to reporters. Ryland predictably showcased a stronger leg, but Folk looked no less accurate than he’s been over the last three-plus seasons.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn’t mince words when asked how he’ll determine who gets the starting kicker job.

“Their performance,” Belichick said before Tuesday’s practice. “We’ll see how it goes, field goals, kickoffs, consistency. It’s very competitive. We know what Nick can do. Chad’s got a good level of talent, too. It’s competitive like a lot of other spots on our roster. It looks pretty competitive, we’ll see how it goes.”

Belichick didn’t rule out the possibility of rostering two kickers, likely with the intention of one handling field goals and the other kickoffs. The Patriots twice last season had two kickers — Folk and Tristan Vizcaino — on their active gameday roster.

“We did last year,” Belichick said. “We had two active or brought one up. So, yeah, it’s possible.”

Some will argue rostering two kickers would be wasteful given the ever-decreasing relevance of kickoffs. But after last season’s disastrous performance on special teams, Belichick might not want to take any chances.

Ultimately, the Patriots want Ryland to win the job and prove capable of handling both kickoff and field goal duties. They used a fourth-round pick on him, after all.

Just don’t expect Folk to give up his job without a fight.