It’s a Folk tale - familiar face back in Patriots camp to compete for kicking job

Last year’s veteran replacement has been in talks with team since March; what took so long to get deal done shouldn’t be a surprise

When the Patriots cut long-time kicker Stephen Gostkowski in the offseason and didn’t offer Nick Folk, his replacement over the second half of the season, a contract, spending a fifth-round pick on kicker Justin Rohrwasser made all the sense in the world.

Monday, when the Patriots announced they’d signed Folk to a contract, it led to a question of why do that if they’d already spent draft capital on the position?

It appears the answer surrounds the same reason why people have to wear masks in supermarkets and aren’t allowed to have backyard cookouts with 20 people.

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Both Bill Belichick and Folk said discussions between the kicker and the team have been ongoing since March. Wednesday, Belichick didn’t expound more than that but Folk shed a little light on why he wasn’t in Foxboro – or at least signed with the team – until recently.

"Back in March was the beginning of the corona pandemic and we kind of didn’t know what was going on. My wife and I, we have four young kids at home so we were a little more worried on that front," Folk said. "We went to home schooling and we kind of just put it on hold and just kept in contact. It kind of made sense to come back this week.

"Glad to be here, glad to be back with the special teams crew and then we’ll kind of keep working and get ready for Miami."

Don’t take that out of context. Folk later said he was looking forward to competing with Rohrwasser, so he’s not assuming the job of his.

But right now signs point to it might be his to lose.

The 35-year old performed admirably for the Patriots last season, hitting 14 of 17 field goals – which included two misses in a monsoon against Dallas and another the week after an emergency appendectomy – and making all 12 of his extra points.

Comfort in New England isn’t a problem.

"It’s always nice to come back to a place where you’ve played. You understand it," Folk said. "You kind of get the flow. It’s always nice to be in there and see the guys, see the familiar faces. Obviously working with Joe [Cardona, the snapper] and Jake [Bailey, the holder] for the last 8-9 games was amazing."

Thursday at practice, Folk didn’t miss while Rohrwasser did. According to the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels – who was at practice – Folk made kicks from estimated distances of 43, 45, 50 and two from 53 yards. Rohrwasser made from 43, 53 and 55 but missed from 45 and 50.

It’s a small sample size, but Folk clearly won the day and it’s what he’s trying to do every day.

"Competition I think brings out the best in everyone any time of the year," Folk said. "Whether that’s in camp when you come up for a workout when you just go and train with other kicker, punters, stuff like that. I just think it brings out the best all the time.

"[Rohrwasser’s] doing pretty well, so I’m just trying to keep my head down, worry about my part and kind of let it all take care of itself."

"Those two guys will both get as much opportunity as we can give them," Belichick said, "and we’ll evaluate them and go from there."

Missing kicks won’t be the only issue with Rohrwasser. He made a name for himself at Marshall because of a strong right leg, but made a name for himself nationally when it was discovered a tattoo on his left arm represented a right-wing paramilitary group. Rohrwasser spoke to the media in late Aprile and said the tattoo didn’t represent who he was and he was going to have the it covered up, but hasn’t been heard from since.

This all could have been avoided had Folk signed earlier. Folk said he prepared himself to play – working out a home and kicking at a nearby high school – but the decision to play came down to more than football.

"We kind of took it day by day, week by week. There were a lot of variables that went into it, especially with corona and stuff," Folk said. "I trained the whole time like I was going to play so I guess you could say yeah, I expected to play and I kept it going there. It just ended up working out."

Folk has an edge in experience – both NFL and in New England - on Rohrwasser and in kicking in an empty stadium, something that’s going to happen with COVID-19 regulations at stadiums this season. Folk was a member of the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American football and right now, is the only NFL kicker who’s made a game-time field goal in an empty stadium.

"We played in the Alamo Dome with no one in there, just the two teams and some camera crews, which I think will be kind of similar to how it will be here," Folk said. "… You could hear everything so I’ve kind of been a part of that already. You’ve just got to keep focus, keep rolling, trust our guys that we’re all going to do our part to come out on top."

erueb@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @EricRueb