The Jets' ongoing kicker competition has garnered significant attention throughout organized team activities (OTAs) so far. The quest to find the best leg for the job has already seen two candidates kicked to the curb, with Lenny Krieg and Will Ferrin failing to last long enough to make it to training camp.
With Krieg released on the first day of June, the Jets' competition was down to Cade York and Younghoe Koo , who signed a one-year contract with the team on May 28. Although some New York fans had high hopes for Koo-a former Pro Bowler who led the NFL with 37 made field goals in 2020, a poor OTA performance has quickly ended his team with Gang Green.
"The Jets are waiving K Younghoe Koo and signing K Jason Sanders , per source," The Athletic 's Zack Rosenblatt reported on Wednesday afternoon. "
It's sad that Koo is no longer the kicker he once was, but Father Time knows no bounds. The Jets made the right call to jump off that train before it derailed itself, and now time will tell if Sanders is a better fit for the team's kicker competition.
A former All-Pro kicker, Sanders's entire NFL career has been played in a Dolphins jersey. Unfortunately, a hip injury forced him to miss all of 2025, resulting in Miami releasing him in March. He signed a one-year deal with the Giants a few days later; however, that tenure was short-lived, as he was released on Tuesday.
With a leg as reliable as his, though, it isn't a surprise that the Jets scooped Sanders up in no time. In fact, Jets on SI 's Jovan Alford actually suggested that New York should sign the former University of New Mexico kicker following Koo's disastrous performance at Tuesday's OTAs. Koo was unable to come close on attempts from 53 and 45 yards out, meaning he has no one but himself to blame for his quick dismissal.
With the kicking competition down to two again, it'll be interesting to see who gets the leg up over the other.
Even though Sanders is the newer competitor, he's on relatively even ground with York. Like the ex-Dolphins special-teamer, York hasn't played meaningful football in a while, only having a brief cup of coffee with the Saints-playing zero games for them-while spending the rest of the season looking for work. And even though he's been with the Jets for about three months now, it's clear that head coach Aaron Glenn still isn't sold on him as the No. 1 kicker.
A comparison of the duo's 2024 stats even shows that Sanders's latest results should give the Jets more confidence than what York has recently done:
| Statistics |
Jason Sanders 2024 |
Cade York 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Games played |
17 |
6 |
| Field goals attempted |
41 |
13 |
| Field goals made |
37 |
9 |
| FG% |
90.2% |
69.2% |
| Extra points attempted |
28 |
17 |
| Extra points made |
26 |
16 |
| XP% |
92.9% |
94.1% |
If Sanders can bring that same reliability he displayed in 2024, even if it wasn't his best performance, the Jets' kicking situation would be in an excellent place. Even though anything can happen over the course of the summer, it's hard to imagine York having a similar impact, especially when you factor in that he's only 12-of-20 (60.0%) on kicks from 40 yards out or further. For comparison, Sanders is 88-of-118 (74.6%).
Jets fans should feel much more confident about the team's kicker outlook now that Sanders has entered the mix. It would've been nice to see Koo discover his magic, but that's just the way things go sometimes. It's time to move on and turn the page as the Jets figure out if Sanders or York is the right man to lead the kicking unit.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/jets/onsi as Jets Sign Former Dolphins Kicker, Waive Younghoe Koo After Just 7 Days .
