The 2025 NFL offseason has presented new opportunities to veterans across the league, including a handful of now-former New England Patriots players. Names like quarterback Jacoby Brissett and cornerback Jonathan Jones left the franchise in recent weeks to seek fresh starts, leaving time to tell if they'll experience more success with their new teams than they did with the Patriots.
While some ex-New England players will find some level of success with their new teams, that won't be the case for everyone who left in free agency. In fact, one former Patriots special teamer is on track to fall flat on his face after putting pen to paper this offseason.
Former Patriots K Joey Syle Will Fail With Titans in 2025
Joey Slye is another player who signed with a new franchise after playing for the Patriots in 2024. The former Virginia Tech kicker signed a one-year contract worth just over $1.2 million with the Tennessee Titans on March 24, making him the No. 1 leg on the AFC's worst team from last season.
Although he's yet to play a snap for the Titans, it isn't too early to see that the 28-year-old special teamer will likely fail to meet expectations.
Slye's numbers were declining leading up to the 2024 season, and his latest performance didn't do much to silence the doubters. Although he went a reliable 25-of-26 (96.2%) when it came to extra-point attempts, he finished with an abysmal 78.8% field-goal success rate (26-of-33), which marks his second-worst performance after his rookie year (78.1 FG%).
It's just hard to imagine Slye turning things around with the Titans, who finished with the sixth-worst Pro Football Focus special teams grade last season. He's rarely moved the needle throughout his career and expecting that to change as he approaches his 29th birthday in a few weeks would be foolish.
Having played with five franchises in only six seasons, history suggests that Slye's Tennessee tenure won't last long. Whether it's because he misses crucial field goals or is outperformed by another kicker, there's a good chance that the Titans will grow tired of the ex-Patriots leg sooner rather than later.
When that happens, New England fans will have nothing to say except, "We told you so."