Stephen Gostkowski will almost surely be back with the New England Patriots next season.

The details of his return, though, remain unclear. According to Tom E. Curran of Pro Football Talk, the Patriots and their long-time kicker are progressing towards a contract agreement.

“And while there has been outside interest, he and the Patriots have made progress toward getting him a new deal.”

There has been some recent speculation that the 35-year-old could opt to retire after winning his third Super Bowl with the Patriots, but Pro Football Talk reports that he will indeed play at least one more season. Prior rumors also linked Gostkowski to the Cleveland Browns, though Greg A. Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal reported on Tuesday that there is no mutual interest between player and team.

The 13-year veteran wasn't quite himself in 2018. Gostkowski connected on 27-of-32 field goal attempts overall, good for an 84.4 percent conversion rate, the lowest since his rookie season. He also made just 2-of-5 kicks from beyond 50 yards, easily the worst percentage of his career. Still, Gostkowski remains a reliable kicker on both field goals and kickoffs and is intimately familiar with New England's culture having spent the entirety of his career playing under Bill Belichick.

The four-time Pro Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro was a fourth-round pick of the Patriots in 2006, replacing the ageless Adam Vinatieri, who had been New England's kicker for the previous 10 seasons. Will Gostkowski do what Vinatieri didn't and finish his career having only played for the Patriots? It certainly seems that way.