New England Patriots: Quinn Nordin aims to make a name for himself

Flowers were tossed at Adam Vinatieri after he announced he was retiring from the NFL. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick blessed Vinatieri with tributes, celebrating his career. Belichick even called Vinatieri “…the greatest kicker of all-time.”

And as this happened, somewhere deep within the bowels of Gillette Stadium, possibly in a dark corner of the Patriots locker room (OK, I’m exaggerating), sits rookie kicker Quinn Nordin.

Good time to be a kicker on New England’s roster. Add on top of that, Nordin is the Patriots sole undrafted rookie free agent. New England has a 17-year streak of a UFAs making the roster out of training camp. Will Nordin to stretch the streak to 18? The odds aren’t in his favor.

Nordin takes the place of Justin Rohrwasser, selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. Rohrwasser became infamous for having a tattoo of the 3 Percenters logo, an anti-government militia group. Social media wasn’t kind to Rohrwasser for that.

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And to top it all off, Rohrwasser performed poorly training camp and lost the job to veteran journeyman Nick Folk. The Patriots waived Rohrwasser after less than a year with the team.

Can Quinn Nordin become the next New England Patriots great kicker?

So Nordin, a rookie free agent kicker, is following in the footsteps of a controversial draft bust while starting his career in the shadow of a legend.

Must be a great time to be Nordin, right?

If Nordin was a long shot, I’d like his chances. His problem is accuracy, which was well detailed by MLive.com. Nordin nailed two 50-yard field goals for the University of Michigan in the 2017 season-opening win over Florida. He also tied the school record with a 57-yard field goal in a 2019 Citrus Bowl loss to Alabama.

But Nordin was inconsistent. His field goal percentage fluctuated over his four years with the Wolverines. He finished the 2019 season with 10 straight, only to make just 2-of-5 in 2020, including missing all three attempts in a win over Rutgers.

Nordin wanted to begin his career with his hometown Lions, but a fresh start away from home might be best for him. Besides, some former Michigan players do very well in New England.

For now, Nordin gets to work on his game in near anonymity. He likely has almost no shot of taking the job from Nick Folk. So Nordin should make the best of this experience and pick Folk’s brain. Pick up some techniques from the 14-year veteran and see what works to become more consistent.

This isn’t how Nordin wanted his career to start, but this might be for the best. He should remember that Vinatieri played one season in NFL Europe before getting his break with the New England Patriots.

Vinatieri viewed his experience positively, saying:

"“It was almost like having a fifth year [of college]. It gave me another year to fine-tune my craft.”"

The Michigan product should approach this opportunity in a similar fashion.

Will Nordin one day achieve legendary status? Or will he be a bust? That’s getting way too far ahead. The first step will be to play well enough to make the practice squad after training camp. Nordin has a chance to write his own story.