By admin 
Jets fans know – just know – that Sunday’s game will come down to a field goal.
Over the long term, roughly 15% of all NFL games are decided by exactly 3 points, according to ESPN. So having a kicker that you can count on is essential for winning programs.
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The New York Jets, of course, are not a winning program just yet. They have missed the playoffs for 15 straight years, a record for North American major sports teams.
Last year, the Jets had an almost automatic kicker in Nick Folk, who missed one kick the whole year. So naturally, the Jets let him get away as a free agent signed by the Atlanta Falcons.
That’s bad enough. But the Jets have apparently not found a comfortable replacement for Folk. With just a couple of days before the opening game, they were still torn as to exactly who will line up to make that anticipated final field goal.
Finally, on Friday, head coach Aaron Glenn gave the job to Jason Sanders over Blake Grupe, a bit of a surprise choice, given that Grupe was already on the roster and Sanders was on the practice squad.
Grupe was signed as a waiver claim after being cut by the Indianapolis Colts, while Sanders was a free agent signing. Sanders was on the roster as a kicker for Miami for eight seasons from 2018 to 2025, although he was out with a hip injury the entire 2025 season.
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Special teams coordinator Chris Banjo claims the Jets are looking for “confidence and consistency” in their kicker. In other words, they feel their dates have to have a “nice personality” rather than beauty.
Sanders will be elevated from the practice squad in time for the game.
The fact that the Jets brought in Justin Tucker, Michael Badgley and Joshua Karty for an early September tryout at kicker is telling. Although none of them was signed, it signaled that the Jets were willing to explore any options, since Tucker was suspended by the NFL for 10 games after massage therapists in the Baltimore area accused him of misconduct.
Special teams coordinator Chris Banjo was asked about Sanders.
“Again, we ask these guys to come to work, put their head down, and just go to work and compete and he’s continued to do that. He hasn’t blinked at all since our last preseason game, and he just comes to work and continues to perform.”
Sanders and Grupe both missed two kicks in the preseason. The Jets are rolling the dice that one of them will emerge as a consistent go-to during the regular season.
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But given Jets history, that’s a high-risk roll.
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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 10:45 AM.