Foxboro, Mass. – The New England Patriots have an interesting battle going on during the offseason program. 

It is Nick Folk, the veteran kicker who joined the Patriots midway through the 2019 season, against Chad Ryland, with New England having traded up to draft the rookie kicker in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. 

Yet, Folk does not seem affected by the Patriots new addition, having a positive mentality heading into his 16th year in the league. 

“Let’s go have some fun — that’s it,” Folk said  “Let’s go have fun. I kind of think about it always, but I’m always competing, whether there’s someone here or not. Competing against yourself, competing against other guys around the league. So, let’s go have a good time, put your best foot forward and see what happens.”

At 38-year-old, Folk remains an accurate kicker despite having lost some of the strength he had when he was younger, making 108 of 121 field goal attempts during his four years in New England. 

As for Ryland, the walk-on at Eastern Michigan spent four seasons with the Eagles, making 56 of 74 field goals. He transfered to Maryland for his final collegiate season, making 19 of 23 field goals (82.6 percent), while going 39-for-40 for extra points.

"He’s a good, talented kicker,” Folk said. “I’m kind of focused on myself. If I can do my part to help this team win games, that’s kind of where my focus is. So, just kind of focused on building a good rapport with Joe (Judge) and the two holders, trying to get some good work in there.”

Bill Belichick also shined some light on the kicker battle prior to Tuesday's practice when asked about what the factors will be in making a decision between the two. 

"Their performance," Belichick said. "We’ll see how it goes, field goals, kickoffs, consistency. It's very competitive. We know what Nick can do. Chad’s got a good level of talent, too. It’s competitive like a lot of other spots on our roster. It looks pretty competitive, we’ll see how it goes.

However, he is also not opposed to keeping the two kickers on the roster. 

"We did last year," Belichick said. "We had two active or brought one up, so yeah, it’s possible."

With a lot of time left until the season begins, it will certainly be a competitive battle between the two kickers. 

Featured Image via Sophie Weller – A to Z Sports