The Jets’ kicking debacle has been resolved … again … for now.
Jason Sanders — who won the initial competition in training camp, was released when Blake Grupe was claimed and then was signed to the practice squad — will kick for the Jets in their season opener Sunday against the Titans, head coach Aaron Glenn said Friday.
The competition is still ongoing. Glenn said he wanted to give Grupe, just added to the roster after he was released by the Colts on cutdown day, more chances to work with long snapper Thomas Hennessey and punter Austin McNamara.
“He’s had most of the reps,” Glenn said of Sanders. “The thing is, Grupe, I want to make sure that he gets a solid chance. He just got here last week. … So I want to make sure that I give him the proper chance for the competition, so I want to let this thing play out.”
That, then, means the underwhelming preseason competition will stretch beyond Week 1. Both Sanders and Cade York struggled, but Sanders did enough to emerge as the initial starter despite missing two kicks in the final preseason game.
At the time, when the Jets publicly declared Sanders as the winner of the competition, special teams coordinator Chris Banjo cited Sanders’ familiarity with kicking in the division after spending seven seasons with the Dolphins.
Sanders missed all of last season with a hip injury. The Giants signed Sanders in March and cut him in June, prompting the Jets to bring him in. During his last healthy season, in 2024, Sanders made 37 of 41 field goals and missed two of his 28 extra-point attempts.
“He’s been a true professional,” Banjo said Thursday when asked about Sanders handling the second competition. “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.”
Glenn ruled out EDGE Joseph Ossai (foot) and WR Tim Patrick (groin) for Sunday’s game. RB Kene Nwangwu, whose back tightened up in practice Thursday, is doubtful, along with CB D’Angelo Ponds (calf).
“I love where he’s at when it comes to his physical,” Glenn said of Ponds, “but, man, just the part of him not getting as much reps as he can.”
At the start of his press conference, Glenn opened with a statement about the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 1, 2001 terrorist attacks. Glenn had just begun his final season with the Jets as a player that year.
“It’s still a tough situation to think about, but again, I said this before, it makes you proud as Americans on how we pulled together as a country and we overcame,” Glenn said. “It was just such a beautiful thing to see that, and really, the men and women that risked their lives to serve — and to me, that’s the number one thing that continues to go through my head.”
