Stephen Gostkowski Placed on COVID-19 List by Titans Ahead of Texans Game

The Tennessee Titans are dealing with uncertainty at the kicker spot heading into their regular-season finale against the Houston Texans.

On Monday, the Titans announced they played kicker Stephen Gostkowski on the reserve/COVID-19 list. 

John Glennon of The Athletic noted the Titans may have to turn to kicker Sam Sloman, who is on the practice squad. Sloman went 8-of-11 on field goals and 18-of-21 on extra points for the Los Angeles Rams earlier this season.

The Rams selected Sloman with a seventh-round pick out of Miami (OH) in the 2020 NFL draft. The rookie now might be placed directly into the middle of a pressure-packed situation with the Titans still looking to clinch a playoff spot.

They can clinch the AFC South with a win over the Texans or a loss by the Indianapolis Colts against the Jacksonville Jaguars. They can also clinch a playoff spot if either the Baltimore Ravens or Miami Dolphins lose to the Cincinnati Bengals or Buffalo Bills, respectively.

As for Gostkowski, Tennessee surely had higher expectations when it signed him this offseason.

The four-time Pro Bowler, three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time All-Pro selection during his 14 seasons with the New England Patriots was one of the best kickers in recent history. He figured to be just what the Titans needed after the team went an ugly 8-of-18 on field goals last year.

Instead, Gostkowski has converted a career-worst 69.2 percent of his field goals at just 18-of-26 on the year.

To his credit, he has improved since he missed three field goals and an extra point in the season opener against the Denver Broncos—which he ironically won with a field goal in the final seconds—but it still has not been what fans are accustomed to with the kicker.