Colts Claiming Kicker Chase McLaughlin Screwed the Patriots Over

The New England Patriots are at a disadvantage when it comes to the kicker position. After Kai Forbath's dud of a performance against the Houston Texans this past weekend, the Patriots are once again scrambling for a new kicker heading into Week 14.

As it turns out, New England put in a claim for former San Francisco 49ers kicker Chase McLaughlin on Wednesday. However, they lost out to the Indianapolis Colts.

Though the #Colts successfully claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin, the #Bills and #Patriots also put in claims, source said. Indy had priority, but this does explain why NE hadn’t signed a kicker today.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 5, 2019

Whether this was coincidental or not remains to be seen, as Colts' kicker Adam Vinatieri did wind up on the injury report on Wednesday. Regardless, Indy was able to get their hands on the former Niner as an insurance policy for the 46-year-old Vinatieri.

Another contender who also had its sights set on McLaughlin were the Buffalo Bills, despite fielding Stephen Hauschka on the roster.

The Patriots were, in fact, in on Chase McLaughlin, but the Colts had a higher waiver spot. https://t.co/OzdYOEnMQ5
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) December 5, 2019

McLaughlin was solid for the 49ers after veteran Robbie Gould went down due to injury. In his stint as a starter, McLaughlin made 7-of-8 field goal attempts, the lone miss being the potential game-winner against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10.

As for the Patriots, they've had a revolving door of kickers after Stephen Gostkowski went down with a season-ending hip injury. Mike Nugent, Nick Folk, and Kai Forbath have all had a shot in New England this season, but none have stuck.

It was expected the Patriots would sign a kicker on Wednesday to replace Forbath, and it turns out they had every intention of doing so. However, the Colts had priority on waivers, and blocked the Patriots from making their desired move.