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Justin Rohrwasser (born December 7, 1996) is an American former professional football placekicker. He played college football at Marshall and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft.

College career

Rohrwasser played the first two years of his college career at the University of Rhode Island before transferring to Marshall University. At Rhode Island, he made 75% of his field goal attempts and 98% of his extra point attempts. In 2019, in his redshirt senior season with Marshall, he made 85.7% of his kicks with a long of 53 yards.

Professional career

The New England Patriots selected Rohrwasser in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft with the 159th overall pick. The move came a few weeks after they released kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who had been the Patriots kicker since 2006.

In the middle of training camp, the Patriots signed Nick Folk, who had played for the team in 2019, as competition to Rohrwasser. Rohrwasser was waived as part of the team's final cutdowns on September 5, 2020. He was signed to the practice squad the following day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. On March 23, 2021, Rohrwasser was waived by the Patriots.

Controversy

Upon his selection, Rohrwasser was scrutinized for having a tattoo of the logo of the Three Percenters, a far-right paramilitary group. The Three Percenters have been condemned by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League as a white supremacist hate group. Rohrwasser claimed to have no links to the organization and denounced it. He further claimed that when he received the tattoo he thought the symbol represented military support. Some commentators questioned whether his denial of previous links with the group was authentic. On April 27, 2020, Rohrwasser pledged to have the tattoo removed completely and did so in December 2020.

References

1. Yang, Nicole (April 25, 2020). "The Patriots select Justin Rohrwasser with 159th overall pick in 2020 NFL Draft". Boston.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
2. ^ Mason, Chris (April 25, 2020). "Patriots draft Justin Rohrwasser, kicker from Marshall, in fifth round of 2020 NFL Draft". MassLive. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
3. "Justin Rohrwasser College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
4. Schwab, Frank (April 25, 2020). "Patriots replace Stephen Gostkowski before Tom Brady, take a kicker in the fifth round". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
5. "Report: Patriots Releasing Kicker Justin Rohrwasser". CBS Boston. September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
6. Dussault, Mike (September 6, 2020). "Analysis: Breaking down Patriots initial 2020 practice squad". New England Patriots. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
7. "Patriots Sign 10 Players to Future Contracts". Patriots.com. January 4, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
8. "Patriots Re-Sign K Nick Folk; Sign DL Davon Godchaux; Release Three Players". Patriots.com. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
9. "Three Percenters". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
10. "Antigovernment Movement". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
11. Michel, Casey (August 17, 2017). "How Militias Became the Private Police for White Supremacists". Politico. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
12. Previte, Samantha (April 24, 2020). "Patriots Kicker Justin Rohrwasser to Cover 'Three Percenter' Tattoo". New York Post. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
13. Barrow, Eric (April 25, 2020). "Patriots Draft Pick Justin Rohrwasser's Ignorance About 3 Percenters Isn't Believable". Deadspin. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
14. Reiss, Mike (April 28, 2020). "Patriots draftee Justin Rohrwasser to remove controversial tattoo". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021.

External links

• Marshall Thundering Herd bio

• Living people
• American football placekickers
• Marshall Thundering Herd football players
• New England Patriots players
• People from Clifton Park, New York
• Players of American football from New York (state)
• Rhode Island Rams football players
• 1996 births