15 Patriots Who Won't Return for the 2024 Season

9. Chad Ryland

Drafted in the fourth round of last April's NFL Draft out of Maryland, Chad Ryland had a first NFL season that he would love to forget. Ryland only converted 16 of his 25 field goal attempts for a dreadful 64 percent conversion rate, the lowest in the league for any kicker that attempted more than a single kick.

Despite those struggles, Ryland did still manage to knock 24 of his 25 extra points through.

With the addition of Ryland, the Patriots parted ways with the steady Nick Folk, who was scooped up by the Tennessee Titans and promptly converted 29 of his 30 field goal attempts and broke the Titans' single season record for field goal percentage.

Ryland missed a game-tying field goal in the Meadowlands against the New York Giants in Week 12. Down 10-7 with six seconds left, Ryland hooked a 35-yarder wide left to seal a Giants win and drop the Patriots to 2-9.

He then slightly redeemed himself on Christmas Eve, drilling a 56-yard field goal with two seconds left to give New England a 26-23 win. To be fair, the Patriots wouldn't have been in that spot had Ryland not previously missed a second quarter field goal and third quarter PAT.

Depending on your personal feelings on tanking, Ryland's miss against the Giants could have been a "win" and his make against the Broncos could have been a "loss".

There are only 32 of these jobs in the league, it is unfathomable to imagine that there won't be a more reliable kicker available to take over for Ryland.