The New York Jets’ search for a kicker continues.
While Aaron Glenn shared that Blake Grupe, who was a waiver wire pickup, and Jason Sanders are “competing” for the team’s starting kicking job, the team continues to bring in veterans for workouts.
Along with Joshua Karty, the Jets have also worked out eight-time Pro Bowler Justin Tucker and Michael Badgley on Wednesday, per Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports.
Tucker, 36, is one of the best kickers to ever live. In 212 career games, he has converted 89.1% of his career field goal attempts and 98.5% of his extra point tries throughout 13 seasons. He also owns a career-long of 66 yards, which set an NFL record in 2021 before Cam Little broke it with a 68-yard attempt in 2025.
Tucker is a seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time first-team All-Pro. However, he was released by the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the 2025 season after he was accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by 16 massage therapists across eight spas in the Baltimore area.
His play had already begun to decline prior to that. In 2024, his last year with Baltimore, Tucker missed a career-high eight field goals and two extra points, for a total of 10 misses, tied for the most in the NFL. He converted just 19 of his 27 field goals, a 73.3% conversion rate, which was a career low.
Following his release, he didn’t play in 2025 after losing a try-out to Cade York in New Orleans. He next landed a try-out with the Colts, who signed Blake Grupe instead. Tucker tried out again with the Saints and Colts in 2026 but was not signed.
Badgley played in nine total games during the 2025 season, including seven with the Indianapolis Colts and two with the Buffalo Bills. Over that span, he converted on 11 of his 12 field goal attempts (91.7%) with a long of 53 yards. His lone miss came from 50+ yards, while he made two kicks from that range.
Despite owning a career percentage of just 43.8% from beyond 50 yards, he has gotten much better from distance in recent years. Since 2022, he’s been successful on four of his six tries from 50+ (66.7%), nearly double his career percentage from that range.
In his career, he’s played in 73 games over seven seasons, with an 83.2% field goal conversion rate and a long of 59 yards. Badgley has also made 188 of his 200 career extra point attempts (94.0%).
The regular season begins less than two weeks from now, and the Jets haven’t found their kicker, which is very concerning. It’s clear they still don’t have a verdict, although the organization isn’t leaving any stone unturned.
