Patriots Rumors: Kicker Kai Forbath to Sign Contract with Nick Folk Injured

The New England Patriots are expected to sign former Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Kai Forbath with Nick Folk out after undergoing an appendectomy, according to ESPN's Field Yates.

Forbath would become the fourth kicker for New England this season, joining Stephen Gostkowski, Mike Nugent and Folk.

Gostkowski was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 2 after undergoing season-ending hip surgery. Nugent was brought in to replace Gostkowski, but he was released after going 5-of-8 on field goals and 15-of-16 on extra points in four games.

Folk was 7-of-9 on field goals and 3-of-3 on extra points in three games with the Patriots.

Now, New England will reportedly turn to a kicker who has not appeared in an NFL game this season.

An undrafted free agent out of UCLA in 2011, Forbath is set to join the seventh organization of his career. He previously appeared in regular-season games for Washington, New Orleans, Minnesota and Jacksonville.

He went 4-of-5 on field-goal attempts and 3-of-3 on extra-point attempts in three games with the Jaguars last season. He converted 84.2 percent of his field-goal kicks over the course of 16 appearances with the Vikings in 2017.

Of note, Forbath has appeared in three playoff games in his career. He is 3-of-4 on field goals and 5-of-5 on point-afters.

It's not clear how long Forbath's services will be required in Foxborough. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Folk's procedure was "minimally invasive," meaning his absence could be limited to just one game.

New England (10-1) will play indoors this week, as it heads to the Lone Star State for a battle against the AFC South-leading Houston Texans (7-4) at NRG Stadium.