Jason Sanders win Jets’ kicking job

Sanders somehow won the kicking job over Blake Grupe despite Grupe being on the active roster and Sanders falling to the practice squad. Sure. Well, anyway, Grupe is being waived. Sanders will continue to kick for the Jets.

This is notable because Sanders is currently on the Jets’ practice squad while veteran kicker Blake Grupe is on the 53-man roster. Fantasy managers expecting Grupe to contribute to their Week 1 lineups will want to make sure they find a replacement. Sanders certainly makes for a viable option after he converted 37-of-41 field goal attempts last season while going 12-of-14 from distances of 50-plus yards.

That leaves former Dolphins K Jason Sanders as the only kicker on the New York roster. Sanders and York competed for the starting gig throughout training camp, with both struggling at times. York missed his only preseason field goal try while Sanders has made both of his preseason attempts. Sanders would appear to be the team’s Week 1 starter, though the Jets could bring in more competition if Sanders — who missed 2025 with a hip injury — proves unreliable.

Koo has bounced around the league since leaving the Falcons and was ultimately unable to stick in New York long enough to compete with Cade York for the starting gig for the upcoming season. Expect Sanders to now compete with York in camp and preseason.

Not a great sign for Sanders’ future that he couldn’t beat out Ben Sauls and Dominic Zvada to even become part of the Giants kicker competition for 2026. He’ll look for another landing spot to try to win a job.

The financial terms were not immediately made available. Sanders kicked for the Dolphins for seven years before being unable to kick in 2025 due to a hip injury. A career 84.6% field goal conversion rate is tied for 27th all time in the NFL, Sanders has the chance to stick with the Giants on a long term deal should he find similar successes in 2026.

A hip injury caused Sanders to miss all of the 2025 season. Now, the veteran kicker with an 84.6 percent field goal percentage that includes a 68.8 percent on kicks of 50-plus yards will now be free to sign with any team. Sanders, 30, has been one of the top kickers in the league since joining the Dolphins as a seventh-round pick in 2018, and should have multiple suitors on the open market if he is fully recovered from his hip injury.

Brewer has gotten All-Pro support this year with a career-high 85.9 PFF grade, so his potential return to the lineup after missing Week 17 would bode well for (apparently) Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon. Dolphins LB Jordyn Brooks (hamstring), LB Chop Robinson (concussion), K Jason Sanders (right hip) and OL Austin Jackson (back) are all also questionable for Week 18.

Riley Patterson has been kicking in Sanders’ stead all year, converting 24-of-26 field goals and 31-of-32 extra points. Although the conversion rates are good, he lacks the requisite kick volume for K1 treatment. We do not know which player will be active on game day, but Sanders remained limited in practice all week.

If you’re thinking “haven’t thought of him for a minute,” well, Sanders has missed the entire season to this point with the hip ailment. Dolphins ST coordinator Craig Aukerman was asked Thursday about whether Sanders or Riley Patterson would kick this weekend and said he didn’t want to speculate. Dolphins long-time beat Barry Jackson noted that Aukerman was asked if he views it as “A). Sanders is Dolphins kicker moving forward period or B). This is a decision above my pay grade that must be made by whoever is in charge in next 8 months,” and Aukerman politely declined to answer. So, yeah. We don’t know who will kick for the Dolphins yet against the Bengals. Someone, probably.