For literal decades, the New England Patriots had one of the best kicker situations in pro football. However, with the days of Adam Vinatieri, Stephen Gostkowski and, yes, Nick Folk all in the rear-view mirror, the team needed a reset.
It found it in the form of a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.
Hard facts
Name: Andrés Borregales
Position: Placekicker
Jersey number: 36 (w)
Opening day age: 23 (1/2/2003)
Measurements: 5’11 1/8”, 202 lbs, 28 7/8” arm length, 8 1/4” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England
Patriots (2025-) | College: Miami (2021-24)
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Borregales and his family moved to the United States shortly before his second birthday. Playing soccer and football growing up, he attended several high schools in the Miami area in hopes of maximizing his potential on the gridiron. Eventually, he finished at Champagnat Catholic and as a three-star recruit — one who received a handful of scholarship offers before committing to his hometown school.
In four seasons at the University of Miami, Borregales proved himself more than just an able kicker: he became one of the best players at his position in the entire country. A four-time All-ACC selection (first team 2023 and 2024; second team 2021 and 2022), he appeared in 50 total games for the Hurricanes and went 74 for 86 as a field goal kicker (86%) as well as 183 for 184 on extra points (99.5%).
Borregales set his sights on the NFL in 2025. The consensus top kicker prospect, he heard his name called 182nd overall by the Patriots in the sixth round of the draft. He went on to appear in all 21 of his new team’s games and finished with a success rate of 81.6% on field goals and 96.8% on extra points.
Scouting report
Strengths: Borregales is a technically advanced kicker whose smooth and repeatable motion allows him to combine accuracy and maximize his range. His leg strength was already on display in college, and translated to the NFL as well: he went 4-of-5 from beyond 50 yards in his rookie season. It also allowed him to adapt to the challenging weather conditions he faced playing in New England.
In addition, he also has vast experience on kickoffs and despite the pro game using different rules he showed some quick adaptability — something that is also true when it comes to his work with a new coaching staff, holder and long snapper in 2025. He also showed mental toughness on multiple occasions as a rookie, a highly important skill for a position such as placekicker.
Weaknesses: Borregales has all the tools to succeed in the NFL, but he did have some issues with consistency on both field goals and kickoffs in 2025. That was especially true down the stretch, which might suggest that the increased workload — he went from 180 total kicks in 13 games in 2024 to 212 in 21 games in 2025 — could have had a negative impact on his performance. In addition, he is on the smaller side and not the most fluid overall athlete, which could negatively impact his work on kick coverage.
2025 review
Stats: 21 games (0 starts) | 212 special teams snaps (38.7%) | 31-of-38 field goal tries (81.6%) | 60-of-62 extra point tries (96.8%) | 112 kickoffs, 6,713 yards (59.9 gross/kickoff; 42.3 net/kickoff), 29 touchbacks, 1 out of bounds, 79 returns, 1,979 return yards (25.1/return), 2 onside kicks (0 recoveries) | 1 special teams tackle | 3 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: The Patriots entered the 2025 NFL Draft with a clear need at kicker, and they made sure to address it. And so, with the 182nd overall selection in the sixth round, they brought in Borregales as the first player off the board at his position. At the time, he was one of two kickers on New England’s roster, joining 2024 holdover John Parker Romo.
While technically in a competition for the kicker job, it became clear in the spring that it was Borregales’ to lose. And indeed, the rookie ended up on the 53-man team, while Romo was sent packing and not even retained via the practice squad.
The Patriots sent a clear message: Borregales was their man, and he showed why on multiple occasions during the season.
Early on, however, he had some issues. His first career field goal attempt sailed wide to the right in the season opener against the Raiders, while he shanked a couple of extra points the following week versus Miami. Nonetheless, Mike Vrabel made what turned out to be a big decision late in that game against the Dolphins: despite the prior two misses, he sent Borregales out for what would turn out to be a game-winning 53-yard field goal. Afterwards, the youngster was rewarded with a game ball.
At that point, something started to click. Borregales was perfect on his next 37 combined field goals and extra points. Among those was a 52-yarder against the Bills, that gave the Patriots a season-defining victory over the then-five-time defending division champions.
Borregales’ streak came to an end in mid-November, and he did look more shaky down the stretch from that point on. However, he still remained a valuable contributor despite overall finishing the year 54-of-60 — including 18-of-24 on field goals — over his final 11 games.
In Week 12 versus the Bengals, for example, he made four field goals and a pair of extra points to help secure a 26-20 win and earn AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. In the season finale against Miami, he set a new career high by splitting the uprights from 59 yards out. He also made the difference in the AFC Championship Game, kicking a 23-yarder in the third quarter to finalize the score at 10-7 in New England’s favor.
Overall, Borregales had a solid first year in the NFL. Sure, there is room for improvement, but both the Patriots and he himself can feel good about his pro level foundation.
2026 preview
Position: Placekicker/Kickoff specialist | Ability: Quality special teamer | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 UFA)
What will be his role? Borregales was drafted by the Patriots to do three things: kick field goals, kick extra points, kick off. That is precisely what he did during his 2025 rookie campaign and that is once again what he is going to do this upcoming season.
What is his growth potential? Borregales entered the NFL as an already fairly advanced kicker, and did show plenty of promise despite having to adapt to more diverse weather than he faced in college as well as increased pressure, a heavier workload and a new snapper/holder/coaching setup. While he needs to become more consistent overall, he has the makings of a multi-year kicker in the NFL.
Does he have positional versatility? Even though he did some punting back in high school, Borregales was exclusively used as a placekicker going back to his college days. He will continue on that path in New England, and show all the versatility he needs to show by successfully converting field goal and extra point tries as well as kicking the ball off.
What is his salary cap situation? Entering the second season of his rookie contract, Borregales comes with a salary cap number of $1.07 million — a figure that currently places him outside the 51 most expensive contracts on New England’s pay roll. This means that only his fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration ($64k) momentarily counts against the cap. His base salary ($1.01M) will only be added to the mix once the Top 51 rule gets lifted ahead of the regular season, if he is on the roster at that point in time.
How safe is his roster spot? Borregales is currently the only kicker on the Patriots’ roster, meaning that he is a lock to make the team at this point in time. And even if another player should be added to the mix, there is near-zero likelihood of him replacing the incumbent: the 23-year-old showed enough as a rookie to be kept around for the foreseeable future.
Summary: While his rookie numbers overall were not particularly outstanding, Borregales had a solid first year in the NFL and very much is on an upward trajectory. If he can take the famous second-year jump and cut down on some of his misses especially on field goals, the Patriots will see concrete results on the scoreboard. And there is little reason to believe he won’t be able to do so.
What do you think about Andy Borregales heading into the 2026 season? Will he be able to take the next step as a kicker? And what would that do to his numbers? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
