Patriots Actually Have Nothing to Lose if They Bring in Carli Lloyd for Kicking Tryout

The New England Patriots, like many NFL teams this season, have been burned at the kicker position.

First, Stephen Gostkowski was placed on injured reserve due to a left hip injury. Then, the team cut Mike Nugent in favor of Nick Folk, who was released last Thursday after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. And most recently, Kai Forbath was shown the exit door following a poor performance this past Sunday against the Houston Texans.

With New England in desperate need of a kicker, and considering they missed out on quality kickers on multiple occasions, they have nothing to lose in bringing in a true dark horse candidate for a tryout: US Women's soccer star Carli Lloyd.

Lloyd participated in some kicking drills at Philadelphia Eagles training camp this past summer, where she nailed a 55-yard field goal with relative ease. In fact, her trainer indicated that the two-time World Cup winner received an invitation to kick in a preseason game. After some "serious offers" rolled her way, Lloyd considered giving an NFL career a shot.

So, why not the Patriots?

The defending champs have had bad luck in securing a long-term kicker once Gostkowski went down. By choosing the likes of Folk and Forbath, New England passed on the opportunity to sign Younghoe Koo, who's become an onside kick king for the Atlanta Falcons.

More importantly, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season doesn't begin until April, so Lloyd won't have any commitments to worry about with her club, Sky Blue FC.

The Pats have yet to make a decision on their next kicker. Given the lack of options available on the open market, the Patriots have a chance to break barriers by giving Carli Lloyd a workout. At this stage of the game, it doesn't hurt to give it a shot -- and if it works even a little bit, it becomes one of the biggest football stories in history.