The Patriots said goodbye Monday to another longtime staple of their two-decade run of championships, releasing kicker and franchise leading scorer Stephen Gostkowski.
The three-time Super Bowl champion has spent his entire 14-year career in New England.
Drafted in 2006, Gostkowski has long passed Adam Vinatieri as the Patriots’ leading scorer with 1,775 points. Only Tom Brady (41), Vinatieri (32) and Jerry Rice (29) have played in more playoff games. His 205 postseason points are second to the 238 points by Vinatieri.
The 36-year-old Gostkowski started the first four games of 2019 but struggled, missing a career-high four extra points after not missing more than three in any of his previous 13 NFL seasons. He was placed on injured reserve in October and underwent season-ending hip surgery.
Vinatieri cemented his place in New England history by kicking two winning field goals in the Super Bowl before leaving for the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent in 2006.
Gostkowski did the same with his consistency, becoming one of the NFL’s most dependable kickers during his Patriots tenure. A two-time All-Pro, he missed only one extra point in his first 10 years in the league and appeared in every game for New England from 2011 through 2018.
His six Super Bowl appearances are tied for second behind Brady.
Gostkowski ends his Patriots tenure having made 87.4 percent (374 of 428) of his field-goal attempts. Veteran Nick Folk ended last season as New England’s kicker, but is currently a free agent.
• The Patriots added more depth to their secondary and special-teams units by adding safety Cody Davis, according to his agent, Jordan Woy.
Davis is a veteran of seven NFL seasons and is known as a core special-teamer who can also help on defense. Last year, the 30-year-old played 87.4 percent (382) of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ special-teams snaps and 6.5 percent (68) of the team’s defensive snaps. He finished second on the Jaguars in special-teams tackles (eight) and also had one of Jacksonville’s two blocked kicks.
Davis spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams. He was also a core special-teamer for them but did contribute more on defense.
In 2016, Davis started three games at safety and played 26.4 percent of the Rams defensive snaps. He finished with 14 tackles, three passes defended and an interception. In 2017, Davis started two of seven games played at safety. He made a career-high 22 tackles and four passes defended to go along with an interception before being placed on the injured reserve with a thigh injury.
Davis seems like a logical replacement for Nate Ebner, who signed with the New York Giants last week. Last season, Ebner finished second on the Patriots with eight special-teams tackles and a blocked kick _ the same stat line Davis that had in Jacksonville.
GIANTS: New York reached agreements on one-year contracts with running back Dion Lewis and wide receiver Corey Coleman.
Lewis spent the past two seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He was released earlier this month in a salary-cap move. Playing behind Derrick Henry, he carried 54 times for 209 yards.
Previously, Lewis played three seasons in New England and his first two with Philadelphia. The signing of Lewis reunites him with new Giants coach Joe Judge, who was an assistant with the Patriots.
Lewis has rushed for 2,310 yards and 11 touchdowns and caught 172 passes for 1,281 yards and seven scores in his seven seasons. He has also played in nine postseason games, including two Super Bowls.
Coleman missed all of 2019 with a knee injury sustained in training camp. He was a 2016 first-round draft choice by the Cleveland Browns. He joined the Giants in October 2018 and played in eight games with one start. Coleman also led the Giants with 23 kickoff returns for 598 yards, a 26-yard average in 2018.
JETS: A person with direct knowledge of the contract said New York and outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins have agreed to terms on a one-year deal.
Jenkins led the Jets in sacks with eight last season and keeps New York’s top pass rusher in place.
The news on Jenkins came a few hours after the Jets also brought back inside linebacker James Burgess on a one-year contract, agent Drew Rosenhaus told The Associated Press.
The 25-year-old Jenkins was the Jets’ third-round draft pick out of Georgia in 2016. He has 20 1/2 sacks in his four-year NFL career, including 15 the last two seasons.
Burgess started the final 10 games of last season at inside linebacker for the Jets after injuries decimated the position. The 26-year-old linebacker is a favorite of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who also coached him in Cleveland. Burgess finished second on the team to Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams in total tackles with 90.
PANTHERS: A person familiar with the situation said Carolina agreed to terms on contracts with former XFL quarterback P.J. Walker of the Houston Roughnecks and former Raiders linebacker Tahir Whitehead.
The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the moves have not been announced by the team since the players have yet to pass physicals. The person says Walker agreed to a two-year contract and Whitehead will get a one-year deal.
The decision to add Walker prompted the Panthers to trade Kyle Allen to Washington, according to a person with knowledge of the move. The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because that deal had not been announced. Allen started 12 games last season for the Panthers and went 5-7 as a starter with 23 turnovers and 17 touchdown passes.
FALCONS: A person familiar with the deals said Atlanta reached agreements with wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, a former first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, and guard Justin McCray.
The Falcons also have re-signed cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson to a one-year deal.
The 24-year-old Treadwell is expected to compete for a spot behind Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on Atlanta’s depth chart.
Treadwell has had a disappointing career after he was the No. 23 overall selection from Mississippi in the 2016 draft by the Vikings. He was cut before the 2019 season before he was re-signed on Sept. 25 and had nine catches for 184 yards and one touchdown in 13 games.
Treadwell had 35 catches for 302 yards and one touchdown in 2018.
COWBOYS: Center Travis Frederick is retiring from the NFL at 29, the 2016 All-Pro saying he “could no longer perform at my highest level” after returning from a neurological disorder that sidelined him for a season.
Frederick made the announcement on Twitter, a surprising development for a team that invested heavily in its offensive line through the draft and now finds itself trying to replace one of the most important pieces.
SEAHAWKS: Seattle acquired cornerback Quinton Dunbar from Washington for a fifth-round pick, a person with knowledge of the move said.
The move addresses Seattle’s need for cornerback depth and Dunbar should instantly jump into the competition as a potential starter. At 6-foot-2 with long arms, Dunbar fits the mold of the cornerbacks Seattle wants to have in its defensive system.
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