Bill Belichick had some high praise for Stephen Gostkowski on Friday.
The New England Patriots head coach told reporters, "Stephen Gostkowski is one of the greatest kickers of all time. He's done a great job for this franchise."
Gostkowski received similar praise from his teammates following the announcement of his injury designation on Wednesday.
Gostkowski is a big part of the reason that the Patriots have only needed to use three different place kickers since 1996. He took over for Patriots legend Adam Vinatieri in 2006 and through his 14-year tenure with the Patriots, Gostkowski has been excellent. He has made 374 field goals in 428 attempts (87.4 percent) and 653 extra-points in 664 attempts. In 35 attempts from 50-plus yards, he's made 25 field goals.
The 35-year-old has seen a dip in his percentages since 2017, but still has been extremely valuable to the Patriots special teams unit.
Gostkowski was placed on injured reserve Wednesday after sustaining a season-ending hip injury that will require surgery. It's no surprise the kicker was dealing with a hip injury, he missed multiple extra point opportunities throughout the first four games of the season and wasn't at his best.
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