Is Brad Knighton looking to move down the hall at Gillette Stadium?
The New England Revolution goalkeeper took to Twitter on Tuesday – shortly after reports came out the New England Patriots were releasing kicker Mike Nugent – to advertise his field goal-kicking abilities.
Nugent was five-for-eight in three games for the Patriots, who are 8-0-0 on the season.
Knighton, who also joked he was available to kick field goals last month when the Patriots placed kicker Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve, tweeted Tuesday that he had an 80 percent success rate on 36 field goal kicks at six different distances.
The 10-year MLS veteran said he was six-for-six on 38-yard attempts from the right hash, six-for-six on 42-yard attempts from the left hash, five-for-six on 48-yard attempts from the right hash, two-for-six on 52-yard kicks from the left hash, five-for-six on 48-yard attempts on the right hash, and five-for-six on 46-yard attempts from the left hash.
A kick around at the park…
6/6 38 R hash
6/6 42 L hash
5/6 48 R hash
2/6 52 L hash
5/6 48 R hash
5/6 46 L hash
80.5% pic.twitter.com/UplrxE4yo7— Brad Knighton (@bbknighton) October 29, 2019
Knighton is starting a new contract with the Revolution on Jan. 1.
This isn’t the first time an MLS goalkeeper – or a Revolution goalkeeper, for that matter – has expressed interest in trying to play a different brand of football.
Revolution legend and current Columbus Crew SC assistant coach Matt Reis once hit field goals with Gostkowski, while former FC Dallas goalkeeper Josh Lambo is currently the kicker for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeTio-_AQUE
Last winter, U.S. women’s national team midfielder Carli Lloyd kicked with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and expressed interest in joining the team full-time.
Switching from MLS to NFL almost worked the other way once as well. Former Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Chad Johnson went on trial with Sporting Kansas City in 2011.