FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots will be without veteran kicker Nick Folk for Sunday night’s road game against the Houston Texans after he underwent an appendectomy, a league source confirmed.
CLSN Media first reported Folk’s status, which isn’t expected to sideline him much beyond this week.
The Patriots now face a decision on whether to sign another kicker for that short-term period, or use rookie punter Jake Bailey in that role.
Bailey was a field-goal kicker at Santa Fe Christian High School in California, where he was 12-of-16 as a senior. He went on to Stanford, where he finished his career in 2018 as the school’s all-time leader in punting average (43.81).
Bailey has been the Patriots’ holder on field goals this year, so if the team elects to use him as its kicker, quarterbacks Tom Brady and Jarrett Stidham would be top candidates to fill the holder role.
The Patriots have managed a challenging situation at kicker this year. Their top kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, was placed on season-ending injured reserve (hip) after Week 4.
Veteran Mike Nugent won the job Oct. 3 after the team held a two-day tryout with free agents. He was released Oct. 29 after going 5-of-8 on field goals and 15-of-16 on extra points.
Folk was signed Oct. 30 and is 7-of-9 on field goals and 3-of-3 on extra points.