FOXBORO — The Patriots need a new kicker.

The team placed Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his season after four weeks.

Gostkowski has been dealing with a long-term hip injury and will undergo season-ending surgery, a source confirmed to the Herald. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported he is expected to return for the team’s 2020 campaign. Gostkowski, 35, had been struggling mightily in his 14th season.

Last week at Buffalo, the two-time All-Pro sent an extra point wide for the third straight game. In total, Gostkowski missed one field goal and four PATs. His four extra-point misses were more than he produced in his previous two seasons combined.

According to reports, the Pats worked out multiple free agent kickers Wednesday, including veteran journeymen Kai Forbath and Mike Nugent. The team did not sign one as of Wednesday evening.

In the interim, rookie punter Jake Bailey could kick off in Gostowski’s place. Bailey, whom the Patriots traded up to select in the fifth round of April’s draft, pulled double duty in college at Stanford. He and Gostkowski displayed comparable leg strength during training camp, when they split kickoff reps.

“He’s done a good job with everything we’ve asked him to do. Stephen’s handled most of the kickoff duties this year, or all of it thus far. (Bailey)’s more than capable,” special teams captain Matthew Slater said. “He did it in college. But what we do moving forward, I don’t know what we’re going to do, nor is it my decision. I’m just out there to cover the kicks when the time comes.”

Gostkowski’s decorated career began as a Patriots fourth-round pick in 2006. The team re-signed him this offseason, when he became an unrestricted free agent for the first time. Gostkowski has attempted every kick for the Patriots since 2010, when he was placed on IR with a thigh injury in mid-November and the team signed veteran Shayne Graham to replace him.

Slater is one of the few players who remembers Graham’s time in New England and knows what it will take for Gostkowski’s next replacement to be successful.

“They just have to be themselves, whoever it is,” Slater said. “You don’t have to be Steve, you don’t have to be Adam (Vinatieri), you just have to be yourself. That’s the call for each and every man that steps into this locker room. Don’t try to be someone that you’re not. Just be yourself. Do your job to the best of your ability, and know this team is going to support you as best as it can.”

Devin McCourty was a rookie the last time the Patriots sought kicking help. Since that 2010 season, he’s logged as many special teams snaps as any player outside of Slater. McCourty’s up-close view of Gostkowski’s career has given him a unique appreciation of what he’s meant to the team as its reached the AFC Championship Game eight years running and won three Super Bowls.

“All-time great,” McCourty said of Gostkowski, who ranks 12th in career points scored. “I think because of (Slater) always being the special teams captain, I think maybe sometimes the outside world doesn’t know how much he means to our special teams unit and to us as a team. I think for me, just the stability of that position – we never waver if there’s a kick on the line, kickoffs, playing against tough returners.

“Sometimes the best thing to stop a tough returner is Steve kicking a ball out of the end zone. So, he’s meant a lot to this team, obviously for the whole time I’ve been here.”

Regardless of Gostkowski’s status, concern would have lingered regarding the position heading into the postseason. Gostkowski missed a kick in the final game of every Patriots campaign dating to 2015. Three of the Pats’ past four Super Bowls have been one-score games, as have two of their three most recent AFC title games.

The pressure to deliver for the NFL’s greatest dynasty will now fall on another’s shoulders, as the Pats move on without one of the best kickers in NFL history.

“It sucks,” Patriots special teamer Nate Ebner said. “But we’ve got to push forward.”