The New England Patriots have reportedly agreed to a four-year, $4.626 million deal with rookie kicker Chad Ryland, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Ryland was the most polarizing pick of the 2023 NFL draft for the Patriots. Let’s be honest, no one is jumping for joy to see a team take a specialist in the fourth round. So it was pretty surprising to see New England trade away the No. 120 and No. 184 overall picks for the 112th pick to take the kicker from Maryland.
The Patriots might have been pushed by the San Francisco 49ers taking Michigan kicker Jake Moody in the third round.
K Chad Ryland (fourth round, No. 112) is the latest Patriots draft pick to agree to terms. Expected to be four-year, $4.626 million deal.
G Atonio Mafi (4/$4.175m), WR Kayshon Boutte (4/$4.027m) P Bryce Baringer (4/$4.01m) and WR Demario Douglas (4/$3.97m) other picks to agree.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) May 12, 2023
Ryland was the second-best kicker on the draft board, and the Patriots wanted to ensure they got their successor to veteran Nick Folk. In his final season with Maryland, he was 39-of-40 on extra points and 19-of-23 on field goal kicks made.
The leg strength is there for Ryland, but it remains to be seen if he was worth a trade up into the fourth round for the Patriots.
