The Jets inched another day closer to the season opener Sunday without naming a kicker, extending an uninspiring competition — that took on another twist last week with the claiming of Blake Grupe — at a position that has historically haunted the Jets.
They’re looking for “confidence and consistency,” as special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said, between Grupe and Jason Sanders.
But what happens if both are confident and consistent the entire week?
“I guess time will tell,” Banjo said before the Jets practiced Thursday ahead of their Week 1 game against the Titans in Nashville.
The optics at this point aren’t exactly promising, and that started back in the spring, when they let Nick Folk — who missed just one kick all last season — walk in free agency.
Grupe, 27, had a strong preseason with the Colts but was released after losing the competition to Spencer Shrader.
Sanders won the Jets job over Cade York, something Banjo publicly declared at his last press conference prior to Thursday, but Gang Green released Sanders and subsequently signed him to the practice squad, kick-starting another competition.
“He’s been a true professional,” Banjo said when asked how Sanders, who missed two kicks in the preseason finale against the Giants, has handled the situation. “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.”
Where head coach Aaron Glenn, Banjo and the Jets ultimately land will come into focus Saturday, when Gang Green’s practice squad elevations are revealed.
If Sanders gets elevated, that likely means he’ll kick. If not, that means the Jets will turn to Grupe, who missed two kicks in the preseason and went 29-for-37 last year across 16 games with the Saints and Colts, to open the season.
But until then, that competition — which has been disastrous in past seasons outside of the stability Folk provided in his second stint with the team — remains a mystery.
When asked about his personal feelings with the onset of a season after being away from the NFL for two years, offensive coordinator Frank Reich mostly deflected to the rest of the Jets in his answer, but he did acknowledge, “It feels like I’ve never left.”
Reich last coached an official game in the league in November 2023, when he was the head coach of the Panthers. He’ll call plays for the Jets from the press box like he did in the preseason.
EDGE Joseph Ossai (foot) and WR Tim Patrick (groin) were the only Jets who didn’t practice Thursday.
CB D’Angelo Ponds (calf) was a limited participant.
RB Isaiah Davis (knee), RB Breece Hall (groin) and TE Kenyon Sadiq (groin) were all full participants.
Titans linebacker Cedric Gray, who is in concussion protocol after a UTV accident over the weekend, didn’t practice for a second consecutive day.
Defensive coordinator Brian Duker said the Jets watched Giants film to prepare for what a Brian Daboll-led offense might look like with the Titans, with the former Big Blue head coach about to start his first season in Tennessee.
