The New England Patriots are on the hunt for a punter, which would have been shocking news as recently as two years ago.

The Patriots seemingly found a franchise punter when they selected Jake Bailey in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He made the Pro Bowl and was named a first-team All-Pro in just his second season, leading the team to sign him to a rich four-year, $13.5 million contract extension last year.

Now a year later, Bailey is a member of the Miami Dolphins.

Bailey’s performance dipped in 2021 and absolutely cratered in 2022, leading the team to first place him on injured reserve, then suspend him and then release him. He signed with the Dolphins last week and explained what led to a back injury last season.

"A lot of it had to do with squatting a ton,” Bailey said, via Omar Kelly of the “I Am Athlete” podcast. “I didn't grow up loading my back with back squats.

“I tried to start something new and be part of the program and it backfired the whole season. Haven't squatted since week 15 and feel pretty good."

Bailey, who ranked last among qualified punters in yards per attempt and net yards per attempt, said he didn’t feel like himself all season.

“I was squatting a lot and getting treatment on my back since week one," Bailey said.

Bailey was less verbose on a grievance he filed with the Patriots over his late-season suspension other than to say it was over.

"The details of it are between me and the Patriots,” Bailey said. “The grievance is done, but everything surrounding it is in the past.”

Bailey’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, released a statement about filing the grievance at the time.

“While Jake Bailey was on IR, he never missed a single treatment, meeting or practice,” Hendrickson said. “He was hoping to come off IR to play, but Jake was informed he was being suspended these last two games. This comes as a surprise given his full participation during injury reserve. We have filed a grievance to fight this unknown suspension.”

Bailey was also light on details regarding the cause for his suspension.

"There is a lot to unpack and a lot of it is between them and me,” he said. “Confusion was a lot of it, and we're past it now at this point. It's something that happened and something that's unfortunate for both sides.”

The Patriots currently don’t have a punter on their roster. There’s a good chance they’ll elect to select another punter in the 2023 NFL Draft. Maybe this one should skip leg day.

Featured image via Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports