According to reports, the Patriots are signing veteran Mike Nugent to replace Stephen Gostkowski, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a season-ending hip injury. Nugent, 37, beat out six other kickers for the job.

Also according to reports, the Patriots are signing Younghoe Koo to the practice squad. The 25-year-old played briefly with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017.

Nugent worked out Wednesday for the Patriots with Kai Forbath, Blair Walsh, Elliott Fry and Matthew Wright.

On Thursday, the Patriots worked out two more kickers in Koo and Josh Gable. Nugent, a 14-year NFL veteran, had more experience than any other kicker the Patriots were working out.

Nugent has played for the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and most recently, the Oakland Raiders.

Last season, in three games, he was 6 of 6 in field goals and 4 of 5 in extra points before a hip injury forced him to land on the injured reserve.

Nugent has converted 81.4 percent (25 of 311) of his career-field goal attempts and also 96.3 (363 of 377) of his career extra-point attempts.

Nugent started his career with the Jets, playing from 2005-08. After two short stints in Tampa Bay and Arizona, he played in Cincinnati for seven seasons (2010-2016).

He split his time in Dallas and Chicago in 2017.

Koo spent the early portion of the 2017 season with the Chargers after beating out Josh Lambo for the kicker job.

He lasted four games and was released after making just 3 of 6 field goals to go with 9 of 9 extra points.

TIGHT END Ben Watson returned to the field Thursday to give the team full attendance at practice.

Watson missed Wednesday’s session for an unspecified reason. He has been granted a roster exemption by the Patriots since rejoining the team Monday after his four-game suspension to start the season.

If the 38-year-old tight end is to be activated for Sunday’s game at Washington, the Patriots must release a player from their 53-man roster or place one on injured reserve.

Watson’s name didn’t appear on the practice report Wednesday because he’s technically not yet on New England’s active roster.

OVER THE COURSE of a few months, long snapper Joe Cardona went from part of the NFL’s most consistent placekicking units to the only guy remaining.

With punter/holder Ryan Allen cut at the end of camp and Gostkowski put on injured reserve, the veteran long snapper is the only carryover on the field goal unit – at least among those who touch the ball.

Now it’s rookie Jake Bailey and the newly signed Mike Nugent.

On Thursday, Cardona noted that he Bailey had worked “exclusively” with Gostkowski so far in their career. So bringing in a new guy trying to put the ball through the uprights presents a new challenge.

“Now that we have a new piece in it, it’s about him getting used to us, us getting used to him,” Cardona said. “It’s not rocket science. It’s just about getting repetition.”

That repetition started Thursday with Nugent present in his first practice with the Patriots. With that first practice in the books, the field-goal unit has just two more days until the team is set to face Washington. Cardona said he, Allen and Nugent need to build chemistry and build it fast.

Nugent comes to the Patriots with 14 years of experience as a kicker in the NFL. The 37-year-old has come in and filled as a kicker in the middle of the season before.

That experience is a boon in this situation, but Cardona said that they still have to build from the ground up with the field- goal unit.

“It’s a tremendous help to bring in a veteran. But ultimately we’re starting at ground zero as far as building that chemistry together, him developing his role on the team and that’s what we’re going to work on right now.”

The focus is on preparing for Sunday with Nugent. But at the same time the Patriots lost one of their longest-tenured players ever.

That’s not easy, especially for a guy like Cardona who has only played with one kicker as he goes through his fifth NFL season.

“It’s really unfortunate. Steve’s a leader on this team, someone who’s been obviously great for a long time, made a lot of incredible kicks. We’re going to miss having him around, but he’s got to get his body right to help us in the future.”