FOXBORO — Two weeks out from cutdown day, one of the Patriots’ most important unsettled roster battles is on special teams.
Little has separated kickers Andres Borregales and Parker Romo through 14 training camp practices and one preseason game, with both making compelling cases to stick on the 53-man roster.
Patriots special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer was asked before Monday’s practice for his take on the competition.
“We’re still in training camp, right?” Springer said. “So we’re still building a team, we’re earning a role and preparing to win. Earning a role is the consistency that you can do every single day, and at the end of the day, we’ll just see what happens at the end of training camp, because we’ve still got a long time to go. I love how both of the guys are competing right now to earn a role, and that’s the biggest thing: earn a role, but you’ve got to be consistent in doing it.”
Borregales and Romo were perfect in last Friday’s exhibition opener against Washington, with each kicker going 3-for-3 on extra points and 1-for-1 on field-goal tries. Romo had the more impressive make, booting one through from 57 yards. Borregales’ made field goal was a 22-yard chip shot.
Both have been similarly efficient in most practices since camp began, but they struggled mightily on Monday. Romo went 1-for-4, and Borregales went 2-for-5, including a long-range attempt at the end of practice that fell well short of the goal post. That erratic display nearly matched the duo’s total of missed kicks from all of the previous training camp sessions combined.
The pair will have two more preseason games and a handful of practices — including two joint practices at the Minnesota Vikings’ facility this Wednesday and Thursday — to impress Springer, head coach Mike Vrabel and the rest of New England’s decision-makers.
Borregales’ status as a 2025 draft pick (sixth round out of Miami) could give him an edge over journeyman Romo (five NFL teams in four seasons, including a stint on the Patriots’ practice squad last December) in a dead heat. But Springer said performance and consistency will matter far more than the path each player took to New England.
“I just think at the end of the day, it’s the consistent person,” Springer said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re drafted or undrafted or if we picked you up in free agency, Coach Vrabel’s message is very clear: You’ve got to earn a role. And if you earn a role through consistency and showing up every single day, to me, that’s the guy that’s going to win the job. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who they are, and that’s how I’m approaching every day. Coach both guys the same way, and if they continue to progress and do what they’re told to do and show some consistency, I’ll be happy at the end of the day with whoever we pick, and we’ll go from there.”
Whoever wins the job will be the Patriots’ fourth primary kicker in as many seasons, following Nick Folk in 2022, Chad Ryland in 2023 and Joey Slye in 2024. Cutdown day is Aug. 26.
Originally Published: August 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM EDT