6 Patriots on the Trade Block Heading Into Training Camp

5. Joey Slye/Chad Ryland, kicker

As of right now, the goal for the New England Patriots is going to be figuring out which kicker gives them the best chance to win tight games this season. The hope is undoubtedly that we see 2023 fourth-round pick Chad Ryland win the job over the veteran Joey Slye, but an ideal world for the Patriots is that both guys have a strong offseason.

If both Ryland and Slye are making their kicks throughout training camp and preseason games, there will be interest around the league. We’ve seemingly seen an uptick in kicker trades the last couple of years because right before the start of the season, teams get extremely desperate and they are willing to pay the price of a late-round pick for peace of mind when it comes to the kicking game.

If both Chad Ryland and Joey Slye have strong camps, the Patriots win either way. They will get calls on them if that’s the case. It’s not a bad investment for teams to try and hoard a couple of kickers on a 90-man roster because of the chance that you could add a 6th or 7th-round pick at the end of the preseason because of it.

The issue right now for the Patriots is that Ryland made just 64 percent of his kicks last year and really struggled as a rookie. Slye has definitely been more reliable making 82.3 percent of his career kicks but a somewhat shocking 88.5 percent of his extra points.

There is risk involved with each of these kickers, but if both guys have a good training camp and preseason, I would be shocked if the Patriots couldn’t trade them for some type of value.