Patriots release kicker Nugent, tight end Tomlinson

The New England Patriots have released kicker Mike Nugent and tight end Eric Tomlinson.

A person familiar with the deal says the Patriots have signed veteran kicker Nick Folk to replace Nugent. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Patriots hadn’t announced the move.

Folk has made 80.3% of his field-goal attempts over an 11-year NFL career. He played three seasons with Dallas, seven with the New York Jets and kicked in four games with Tampa Bay in 2017, his last stop in the NFL before joining the Patriots. Folk, who turns 35 next Tuesday, last kicked in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football, where he booted a league-record 55-yard field goal in March for the Arizona Hotshots.

For Nugent it ends a rough, four-game stretch for the 37-year-old veteran who was signed after longtime kicker Stephen Gostkowski went on injured reserve on Oct. 3.

Nugent was just 5 of 8 on field-goal attempts and also missed an extra point. Two of his missed field goals came in New England’s win over Cleveland on Sunday. He had a 29-yard attempt blocked and missed another from 34 yards.

Tomlinson, who signed on Oct. 15, started two games and caught one pass for 1 yard.