After Jason Sanders’ rough outing on Friday night, the New York Jets may need to reconsider their plans at kicker.

Although the team declared him the winner of their kicking competition earlier in the week, Friday night’s showing was ugly for the former Miami Dolphin. He missed his lone extra point attempt while leaving a 54-yard field goal attempt short.

While his track record was much more inspiring than his competitor, Cade York, it doesn’t appear that either consistently thrived throughout training camp.

“I didn’t like that we missed these field goals, but we’re not going to panic,” Jets head coach Aaron Glenn shared with the media following Friday’s game.

He added that Sanders has been good throughout the summer, but they will bring in competition if necessary.

That’s an important distinction. The Jets could very well be planning to add competition. The head coach isn’t going to bash the only kicker on the roster publicly to the media.

If Gang Green does, in fact, plan to explore the cutdown day market for available kickers, here are the top names they should have their eyes on.

3. Michael Badgley

Unlike the two other names on this list, Michael Badgley is not currently with a team. He is an unrestricted free agent and can sign anywhere at any time.

He’s also the most experienced option.

Over seven years in the NFL, he’s played in 73 games while converting 109 of his 131 field-goal attempts (83.2%) with a long of 59 yards. He struggles from long range, making just 6 of 17 attempts from 50+ yards (35.2%). Badgley has made 188 of his career 200 extra point attempts (94.0%).

In 2025, he played in nine total games, seven with the Indianapolis Colts and two with the Buffalo Bills. Throughout those nine games, he hit 11 of 12 field goal attempts (91.7%) with a long of 53 yards. His miss came from 50+, going two of three from that range.

While his career percentage from 50+ (35.2%) is abysmal, he’s gotten much better from there over the past few seasons. Since 2022, he’s converted on four of his six attempts from 50+ (66.7%), which is nearly double his career percentage.

Badgley certainly shouldn’t be the Jets’ primary target, but he’s certainly a name to keep in mind.

2. Ben Sauls

While Ben Sauls hasn’t officially been released yet, New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh announced that Dominic Zvada won the team’s kicking battle.

Sauls is expected to be released ahead of the cutdown day deadline, or if he is placed on their practice squad, the Jets could poach him onto their 53-man roster.

There’s nothing more that he could have done to earn the job in the preseason, hitting all three of his field goal tries and his only extra point attempt.

Sauls, 25, played in three games for the Giants last year, and converted on all eight of his field goal attempts and extra points, though his longest try was from just 45 yards.

However, he’s flashed his leg before. During his time at Pitt, he hit a 58-yard field goal against Cal in 2024, which tied for the longest field goal made in program history. He also made six 50+ yard field goals during the 2024 season, another record.

Sauls doesn’t have much NFL experience, but at 25 years old, he poses an opportunity for the Jets to take a shot on a young kicker who hasn’t given a reason not to be trusted.

1. Spencer Shrader

The Colts’ kicking competition between Spencer Shrader and Blake Grupe is essentially dead-even entering cutdown day weekend. There is not one clear frontrunner, and it could go either way.

Shrader, 27, was one of five kickers to appear in a game for the Jets during the 2024 season, as he accounted for the team’s only points in their 31-6 Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

In nine career regular-season games, he’s drilled 18 of his 19 field goal attempts (94.7%) while hitting one of his two attempts from beyond 50 yards. He’s also converted on all 23 of his extra point attempts.

Shrader earned his first starting gig in 2025 with the Indianapolis Colts, and he was off to a strong start before a knee injury wiped out the remainder of his season five weeks in.

Now, he is competing against a veteran in Grupe, who took over for Indy after Shrader got injured.

He’s 27 years old and has been very accurate despite a somewhat limited sample size, with just 19 field-goal attempts. Shrader also flashed his distance this summer, hitting both of his attempts from 50+ yards throughout the preseason, including a 61-yarder and a 60-yarder.

If Shrader loses the battle, he should be the top name on the Jets’ radar.