4 Patriots on Thin Ice After Week 10 Loss to Colts

3. Chad Ryland, Kicker

Back in 2019, the Patriots signed veteran kicker Nick Folk, who spent the next four seasons holding down the job. Despite being in his mid-30s when he signed, Folk proved to be a great addition as he hit 89.3 percent of his attempts. He also hit all 58 of his tries from inside of 40 yards.

At 39 years old, however, Folk found himself fighting for his job this year and New England decided to go with rookie Chad Ryland, trading Folk to the Tennessee Titans.

The Pats used a fourth-round pick on Ryland in the spring, so the Maryland product was always going to win the job. The question was whether or not he could make it as an NFL kicker. After 10 games, there are still questions.

Ryland entered the game in Frankfurt with 4 missed kicks already. All of those misses had come outside of 40 yards, but that changed this weekend. In the third quarter of a one-score game, Ryland was called upon to attempt a 35-yarder in the third quarter, which he pushed wide right.

He did hit two of his kicks on Sunday, finishing 2-of-3. That means on the season, he's now 12-for-17, which is a percentage of just 70.5.

To make matters worse, Folk has been fantastic for the Titans. The veteran entered this weekend 19-of-19, including 3-of-3 on kicks over 50 yards.

New England can't turn back the clock and keep Folk, but it might be considering another replacement for Ryland if he doesn't improve over the final seven games.