Is the Jets Kicking Conundrum Finally Over?
While the kicking position has been filled with endless drama over the years for the New York Jets, it seems this may come to an end in 2025. Recently, the Jets signed veteran kicker Nick Folk, bringing him back eight years after his first stint with the team. While Folk is 40 years old and certainly past his prime, he brings a sense of stability to the kicking unit that the Jets have not had in recent years. From 2017 to 2021, the Jets used seven different kickers and weren’t able to find one to stick around and produce viable numbers. Once Greg Zuerlein signed with the team, he produced great numbers for the first two years of the contract, but faltered last season. During the 2024 season, Zuerlein made nine field goals in 15 attempts before injury, and the Jets’ kicking carousel began. The signing of Folk marks the end of the kicking conundrum that the Jets have experienced the last few seasons, at least for the 2025 season.
When speaking about Folk recently, head coach Aaron Glenn mentioned that Folk’s numbers have been “above board recently.” Despite his age, Folk has been able to attain career-high numbers, including the highest field goal percentage in the league the last two seasons. During his 17-year career, Folk spent seven seasons with the Jets and made 175 field goals in 213 attempts. Last season with the Tennessee Titans, Folk made 21 field goals in 22 attempts.
At this moment, it seems that Folk has the kicking job, and it is his to lose during camp. The battle between Harrison Mervis and Caden Davis was a very underwhelming one, which definitely played a big part in why the Jets were forced to go out and sign Folk. However, Folk’s performance in camp so far hasn’t exactly been breaking news. While Folk started his Jets tenure with a perfect six-for-six run during practice, he struggled during Saturday’s Green and White Scrimmage like many of his teammates on offense. Folk missed the one attempt that he was given, which quickly marked the end of his day. While only time will tell how Folk will perform once the regular season starts, his signing shows that the Jets are hoping they can take the leap and show off on offense this season.
