The Jets walked out of their preseason finale with a problem they can’t ignore: Jason Sanders didn’t answer the bell.
After being named the starter earlier in the week, Sanders missed both of his chances on Friday night, pushing an extra point wide and then coming up short on a 54-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. For a team trying to settle its kicking situation, that kind of night makes the conversation a lot louder.
The missed kicks only sharpened the concern around New York’s decision to move forward without Nick Folk, who drew an offer from the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. If this is the version of Sanders the Jets are getting, general manager Darren Mougey may end up regretting that call.
Head coach Aaron Glenn was asked after the game whether the kicking issues had him worried, and he made it clear he wasn’t ready to hit the panic button.
"I didn't like the fact that we missed these field goals. But the thing is, we're not going to panic.
And we're going to make sure we make the right decision to make sure we get- either we fix those issues, or we get the right person in here. But Jason's been good for us.
I mean, he's been good in practice. So I'm going to evaluate that and see exactly what direction we'll go."
Glenn stood by Sanders and pointed to his work in practice, but the bottom line is simple: the Jets can’t afford to treat kicker as a settle-it-later spot if the misses keep coming. With Sunday looming as the deadline to finalize 53-man rosters, there should be options available from around the league.
Charlie Smyth of the New Orleans Saints, Blake Grupe of the Indianapolis Colts, and Spencer Shrader are among the names that could become available, and each has legitimate NFL kicking experience. If New York wants to move on from Sanders, the replacement pool should have some answers.
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Jets Make Another Quinnen Williams Trade Ripple On Defensive Line
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His exit leaves the depth chart looking a little clearer for now. Harrison Phillips is expected to settle in as the starting defensive tackle, with TVondre Sweat in line at nose tackle and rookie Darrell Jackson Jr. behind them as a backup. It is the kind of reshuffling that comes with a major trade, and for the Jets it is another reminder that the ripple effects on the defensive line are still being felt. [Read more 🡒]