The Jets finally made their call, picking Jason Sanders as their starting placekicker for Week 1 after waiving Cade York on August 25, 2026. This move settled a heated competition that had been brewing throughout training camp to replace Nick Folk.
The Job is His, Officially
Yeah, the Jets had a full-blown kicker showdown, with former Dolphins guy Jason Sanders battling journeyman Cade York for the spot. While York getting cut on its own didn’t totally seal the deal for Sanders, special teams coach Chris Banjo laid it all out for the media. Banjo straight up said Sanders “has won the job” and that he feels “really, really good about where Jason is.” He even threw in Sanders’ experience in the AFC East as a major plus. Gotta love that directness, right?
Beyond Just One Bad Day
Now, here’s where it gets wild: the timing of this decision is kinda baffling because BOTH kickers had a rough practice yesterday. Sanders himself missed three out of five field goal attempts! But the Jets front office and coaching staff clearly looked past that single bad day. They decided the “entire body of work” was way more important, and honestly, you can see why. Sanders was lights out, perfect through their first two preseason games. Sure, he missed 2025 with an injury, but get this, he nailed over 90% of his field goals two years ago, the last time he was actually playing. Oh, and let’s not forget the dude was a First Team All Pro back in 2021. That’s some serious hardware, even for a kicker.
The kicker position is always a pressure cooker; you’re only a few misses away from the hot seat. But for now, the Jets are rolling with Jason Sanders as their Week 1 guy, feeling “comfortable” with him handling the placekicking duties. He’s got the resume, now he just needs to deliver when it counts.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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