On Saturday when the Patriots trimmed their roster to 53 players, they released rookie kicker Justin Rohrwasser, who they selected in the fifth round.
This got a ton of reaction with some getting on Bill Belichick for the pick, while others saying it's just a fifth-round pick and a number of fifth-rounders get cut in their first training camp.
While the latter part is true, it's OK to criticize Belichick for this selection for a few reasons.
First off, Rohrwasser was the first overall kicker selected in the entire draft and also immediately after the pick came a lot of discussion over his controversial tattoo. While it wasn't a major topic relating to the team, it still was an unneeded distraction, especially for a rookie selected in the later rounds.
Secondly, around the league three rookie kickers appear to have won the starting job with their respective teams — Rodrigo Blankenship in Indianapolis, Sam Slogan with the Rams and Tyler Bass in Buffalo. This would indicate at least three kickers were better options than Rohrwasser with that fifth-round pick.
While veteran Nick Folk was also released Saturday, there's a possibility he's back on the roster in the next day or two following players going on injured reserve, or others getting cut. Rohrwasser also seems like a candidate to return on the practice squad.
In the week of training camp practices the media was able to see, Folk clearly had the edge over the rookie, but then speaking Friday, Belichick said the gap between the two was "pretty close."
Again, while it's not getting totally worked up over, it's still OK to question the selection.
