The New England Patriots made several additions to their roster over the past week through the NFL Draft. Those additions focused on offense. On Tuesday the Patriots added a defensive player to the roster. This time, they went the veteran route by bringing in veteran NFL placekicker Joey Slye.
Joey Slye
Slye played his college football for Virginia Tech. He finished his career as the fourth-leading scorer in ACC history with 403 points. He went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft and spent that season out of football after tryouts with several NFL teams.
Joe Slye had a brief stint in Giants camp in 2019. The Carolina Panthers brought him into camp, where Slye impressed. After Carolina kicker Graham Gano began the season on injured reserve, Slye got the Panthers’ placekicker job. He retained the job throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He converted 54-of-68 field goal attempts (79.4%) and scored 226 points.
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Carolina replaced Slye with Ryan Santoso before the 2021 season. He ended up appearing in three games each for the Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers as an injury replacement. He finished the season with the Washington Commanders, with whom he spent the past two seasons.
Joey Slye made 56-of-66 field goal attempts in Washington (84.8%) over the past two-plus seasons. This included a long of 61 yards in 2023.
Slye signed a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Mar. 18, 2024, but he was released six weeks later. The New England Patriots signed him the following day. Joe Slye ranks No. 15 in scoring since entering the NFL with 501 points.
Patriots Placekickers
New England used a fourth-round pick (No. 112 overall) to select Chad Ryland in the 2023 NFL Draft. Ryland struggled as a rookie. He hit only 64% of his field goal attempts (16-of-25) in 2023. The Patriots bringing in competition for the placekicker position should surprise nobody. In addition to Ryalnd and Slye, they invited Canadian kicker Vince Blanchard to rookie minicamp.
In addition to being an all-state kicker in high school, Slye was an all-state linebacker in New Mexico. He made nine tackles during his college career at Virginia Tech and has added eight more during his NFL career. With the league’s new kickoff rules coming in 2024, Slye could be a valuable “back kicker” if he makes the roster.
Whether Joey Slye makes the New England Patriots 53-man roster out of camp is unknown. But a message has been sent to Chad Ryland that he needs to be on top of his game to retain his job. Competition should make everyone better. There is now a kicker competition brewing in New England.
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