New England Patriots kicker Nick Folk is reportedly out for Sunday's prime-time game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium due to an appendectomy, meaning the team will need to find a replacement kicker for the Week 13 matchup. Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday that the kicker recently had the procedure to remove his appendix that will knock him out this week, but he is not expected to miss any games past Sunday.
The Patriots official website confirmed Raoport's report following their Thursday afternoon practice. Folk did not practice Thursday and was listed with an appendix injury. The website also stated that Folk is only slated to miss "one or two games" and should be back for the Patriots' final three games of the regular season.
Rapoport tweeted that the procedure was "done laparoscopically, minimally invasive, which should mean a short recovery time."
Folk should be healed and ready to go for when the Patriots host Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 8, but for now, the kicker position in Foxborough is a big question mark.
Whoever takes the temporary spot will be the fourth kicker the Patriots have used this regular season. Stephen Gostkowski was placed on injured reserve in October and had season-ending surgery for a left hip injury.
The team then signed Mike Nugent but his inconsistencies lead the team to sign Folk.
New England, which in the Brady-Belichick Era has historically seen consistency in the kicker position before this season, having only now-Indianapolis Colt Adam Vinatieri from 1996-2005, Gostkowski from 2006-2019 and Shayne Graham for eight games in 2010, is in a rare situation.
The team is also dealing with a flu bug that has hit the locker room. Veteran safety Devin McCourty said, "In my 10 years here, this probably the most guys I've seen sick." Eight players missed practice due to illness, according to the team's injury report.
The 10-1 Patriots look to keep their AFC first-place position with a win on Sunday night and the 7-4 Texans aim to pull ahead further in the tight AFC South race.