Bill Belichick did quite a bit of housekeeping on Monday afternoon.
Ten players were signed to futures contracts — all of them finished the season on the practice squad — including kickers Justin Rohrwasser and Roberto Aguayo. With Nick Folk heading to free agency, the Patriots have a pair of contingency plans on the 2021 roster. They’re keeping 6-foot-7 quarterback Jake Dolegala in the fold, and fans may also recognize Isaiah Zuber’s name, as the wide receiver was elevated four times this season.
Here’s the full list of Patriots with new contracts:
K Roberto Aguayo
QB Jake Dolegala
DT Bill Murray
G Ross Reynolds
K Justin Rohrwasser
CB D’Angelo Ross
WR Devin Smith
DT Nick Thurman
WR Kristian Wilkerson
WR Isaiah Zuber
It’ll be curious to see what the Patriots do at kicker in 2021.
Nick Folk was dynamite — he hit 26 of 28 field goals, including a pair of walk-offs — but Belichick was obviously looking to get younger at the position when he drafted Rohrwasser last spring. At 36 years old, Folk has no intention of retiring.
“I feel like I’m kicking pretty well. So there’s no inkling in me that wants to stop,” Folk said in December. “I enjoy this. I enjoy the guys, I enjoy my teammates playing football. It’s a lot of fun. I enjoy kicking. So I want to keep going, want to keep playing. It’s been a great year to end on a high note here his last two weeks and you know, get a couple more wins under our belt. And then well, we’ll deal with when the time comes. But I guess I still want to keep playing. I still have a lot of leg in me.
“I’ve gotten pretty good at the end of my career, towards the end, just worrying about what the next kick not worrying about what happened in the past. It’s done, I can’t change it, or what’s going to happen in the future. The only thing you can worry about is that next one kick whenever it comes up, whether it’s an extra point or a field goal. So that’s kind of been my mindset all year. The next one is the only one.”
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