6 Patriots on Thin Ice Following OTAs

With the New England Patriots wrapping up OTAs, they'll now turn their attention to their mandatory minicamps which take place June 11-13. After that, all eyes will be on training camp as this team continues to work toward a new era.

It's the first time since the year 2000 that Bill Belichick won't be the head coach. Jerod Mayo takes his place and is trying to build his own culture. That begins with all these offseason workouts. With the first round behind them, let's take the temperature of the roster and identify six players who are on thin ice.

6. Chad Ryland, Kicker

A fourth-round pick out of Maryland, Chad Ryland was kept in favor of Nick Folk. New England allowed his draft status to blind them and they paid. Ryland went 16-for-25 on field goals (64 percent) and missed half of them from beyond 40 (5-of-10 from 40-49 and 0-for-2 on 50-yards or more).

Meanwhile, Folk was signed by the Tennessee Titans and despite being 39 years old, he continued to knock in one field goal after another. In fact, he had his best season as a pro, making 29-of-30 kicks (96.7 percent) including 11-12 from 40-and-beyond.

This year, Ryland has another veteran to contend with in Joey Slye. The 28-year-old has been in the NFL since 2019 and while the Patriots are his fifth team, he hasn't been awful. Slye has connected on 82.3 percent of his field goals and 88.5 percent of his extra points (that part is less than ideal). He has plenty of leg, connecting on a 61-yarder last year. His accuracy from deep isn't great (20-of-32) but five of those misses were in 2020 with the Carolina Panthers.

Slye isn't a lock to make the team but Ryland won't get the benefit of the doubt after the way 2023 unfolded. That's why he needs to show improvement during camp and the preseason.