FOXBORO — Mike Vrabel interrupted the reporter before he could finish his question.
Asked what his message to Andy Borregales would be after the second-year kicker missed “a couple of field goals” in the Patriots’ preseason opener Thursday night, Vrabel interjected: “Three.”
More than a couple of misses. Three of them. All wide left, including one with 10 seconds remaining that would have won the game for New England.
Instead, the Patriots-Colts exhibition [ended in a dull 13-13 tie](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/08/13/what-we-learned-best-and-worse-from-patriots-13-13-preseason-tie-with-colts/) at Gillette Stadium.
“I don’t have a message,” Vrabel said. “We’re expected to make them. That’s pro football. They’re banging them in from 60 yards. They’ve got two kickers on the roster, so Andy knows that we have to make those field goals.”
Borregales’ field goals weren’t gimmes — his misses were from 56, 55 and 49 yards, and he made ones from 40 and 52 — but his 40% success rate was unacceptable to his head coach.
Later in his postgame news conference, Vrabel did not rule out signing another kicker to push Borregales, who has not had in-house competition since last summer.
“I’m sure we’ll talk about it and see where we’re at,” Vrabel said. “I’m not going to make any decision tonight. But again, we’re going to have misses. We’re going to have mistakes. In everything we do, we just need to be able to come back. We need to be able to bounce back, and we need to be able to answer. Guys are going to drop a pass. Guys are going to miss a block. We’re going to miss a kick.
“But you just have to not let those things pile up. Andy’s been really good with that, and I would anticipate him getting back to work and really starting to focus.”
Drafted in the sixth round out of Miami last year, Borregales started slowly as a rookie but missed just four kicks over his final 15 games, going 23-for-27 on field goals and 51-for-51 on extra points during that span. He’s been generally reliable in training camp this summer, though his accuracy has wavered in practice of late.
“It’s definitely tough,” Borregales said of his rough outing. “I’ve just got to go back and watch the film and be better.”
The Patriots signed a new long snapper, Niko Lalos, earlier this week with incumbent Julian Ashby dealing with an injury. Borregales admitted the change in the field-goal operation with Lalos snapping to holder Bryce Baringer was “something that I’ve got to adjust to.”
“At the end of the day, it’s just ‘on to the next kick,'” he said. “Can’t dwell on the past. Obviously, tomorrow, go in, watch the film, and then once I finish watching the film, just turn the page.”
Despite Thursday’s struggles, Vrabel said he remains confident in the 23-year-old.
“Maybe it was a footwork thing or trying to overswing. But I have confidence in Andy,” he said. “I just, you want to be able to make those, and I think we got in a position to win the football game, and you want to be able to make them.”