Patriots Rumors: Mike Nugent, Younghoe Koo Signed Post-Stephen Gostkowski Injury

Former Cincinnati Bengals kicker Mike Nugent will sign with the New England Patriots to replace Stephen Gostkowski, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported Thursday.

The Patriots placed Gostkowski on injured reserve Wednesday because of a hip injury that will require season-ending surgery.

The Pats also added Younghoe Koo to their practice squad:

Gostkowski, the fourth-most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history with an 87.4 percent conversion rate, struggled during the early stages of the 2019 season.

The 35-year-old Louisiana native connected on seven of his eight field-goal attempts, but only one of those was from beyond 40 yards. More pressing was the fact that he made just 11 of his 15 extra points (73.3 percent) with at least one miss in three straight games.

"It was pretty terrible on my part," Gostkowski told reporters after missing a field goal and two extra points during a Week 2 win over the Miami Dolphins. "Today just sucked."

Now it's clear an injury was playing a role in his unexpected troubles.

The Pats will turn to Nugent, 37, to kick for the NFL's fifth-ranked scoring offense.

The New York Jets drafted Nugent in the second round in 2005, and he played four seasons with the Jets. A seven-year stint with the Bengals (2010-16) is his most notable NFL stop. He has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders.

The former Ohio State Buckeyes standout has converted 81.4 percent of his field goals and 96.3 percent of his extra points (90 percent since the distance was increased in 2015) across 14 NFL seasons. He made all six of his field goals during a three-game stay with the Raiders in 2018.

He's slated to make his debut when the reigning champion Patriots attempt to remain undefeated in a clash with the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Koo is a developmental project after going undrafted in 2017. He converted three of six field-goal attempts in four games with the Los Angeles Chargers during his rookie year. He made all 14 of his field goals for the AAF's Atlanta Legends earlier this year, but none were from beyond 40 yards.