The New England Patriots are less than 24 hours away from the chaos of the legal tampering period getting underway ahead of free agency. While the team is looking to take care of some final pieces of business before things get going, one of their former players appears to have earned a new contract.
That player would be kicker Chad Ryland, who has spent the past two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals after enduring a miserable rookie campaign with the Patriots. While Ryland wasn't perfect in 2025, he did enough to earn himself a new deal with the Cardinals, as he's reportedly re-signed with the team on a one-year contract.
"Another Arizona Cardinals re-signing: K Chad Ryland is returning on a one-year deal, sources say," Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported in a post on X.
New England turned heads when it used a fourth-round pick on Ryland in the 2023 NFL Draft. Right from the get-go, things didn't work for Ryland with the Patriots, as he hit just 16 of his 25 field goal attempts as a rookie. Ryland ended up losing his job to Joey Slye the ensuing season, with the Cardinals swooping in and signing him.
Ryland was much better in 2024, as he hit 87.5% of his field goal attempts. That number dropped back down to 75.8% in 2025, but the Cardinals still feel confident in the talented young kicker for the time being. The Pats, meanwhile, appear to have found their kicker of the future in Andy Borregales, so while they struck out on Ryland, everything ended up working out for both sides in the long run.
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