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Titans reach deal with ex-Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski

The Tennessee Titans have agreed to a contract with former New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

The Titans waived kicker Greg Joseph, who signed with Tennessee at the end of last season, in a corresponding move.

Joseph had been competing with undrafted rookie Tucker McCann for the team's kicking job.

Gostkowski is a former teammate of Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who was with the Patriots during Gostkowski's first three seasons (2006 to 2008).

The Patriots released Gostkowski on March 23, ending the kicker's tenure with the team after 14 seasons.

Gostkowski, who is coming off left hip surgery that shortened his 2019 season to four games, had been the Patriots' full-time kicker since 2006, when he replaced Adam Vinatieri. He is the franchise's career scoring leader with 1,775 points.

Gostkowski, who turned 36 in January, was the Patriots' longest-tenured player once quarterback Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gostkowski was scheduled to count $4.8 million against the salary cap in 2020.

Gostkowski was 374-for-428 on field goals (87.4%) with the Patriots and 653-for-664 on point-after attempts (98%). That didn't include the playoffs, where he was 31-for-36 on field goals and 79-for-83 on PATs. His strong right leg was also valuable to the team on kickoffs.

Only Brady (41), Vinatieri (32) and Jerry Rice (29) have played in more career playoff games than the 28 of Gostkowski, whose 205 postseason points are second all-time to the Vinatieri's 238. Gostkowski also has played in six Super Bowls and is one of just three players to do so, along with Brady (nine) and former Bills and Broncos defensive tackle Mike Lodish (six).

ESPN's Mike Reiss contributed to this report.