Patriots release Stephen Gostkowski

The Patriots have released veteran kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

Will they go younger and cheaper via the draft? That remains to be seen.

The move, first reported by Jim McBride of the Globe, saves $3,487,500 against the cap and there will be a dead-cap hit of $1.4 million. It will bring the Patriots' total dead cap charge to nearly $25 million.

Patriots also replaced Nate Ebner with another special teams standout: Cody Davis of the Jaguars.

https://twitter.com/JordanWoy/status/1242149705796202496

BSJ Analysis

The writing was kind of on the wall as Gostkowski, 36, attempted to come back from a serious groin injury, and the Patriots didn't miss much of a beat with veteran Nick Folk. He's a free agent and made about $1 million last season.

I had the Patriots taking a kicker in the draft: Georgia's Rodrigo Blankenship.

I would expect the Patriots to sign a veteran at some point and then see how the draft works out, but there's no hurry in the current climate.