Jets' Kicker Auditions Signal Late-Game Volatility Heading Into Week 1

The Jets lost their most consistent offensive weapon from a historically brutal 2025 season when Nick Folk departed for Atlanta in free agency. Folk was one of the few bright spots in New York's collapse last year, and his departure with less than two weeks before the regular season opener has left the team without a settled kicker. On Wednesday, the Jets worked out Justin Tucker, Michael Badgley, and Joshua Karty—three free agents with varying résumés and none with the stability Folk provided.

Tucker, the 19-year veteran who spent nearly two decades with Baltimore, is a Hall of Fame trajectory talent but hasn't kicked in an NFL game since 2022. Badgley has bounced between five teams in the last three seasons, most recently with Denver, where his consistency eroded after an injury in 2024. Karty, the youngest of the three, has appeared in only 14 games over two seasons and carries a limited sample. None of these candidates offer the security the Jets need heading into a season where field position and red-zone efficiency will determine playoff positioning in a competitive AFC East.

The timing of these workouts—11 days before Week 1—suggests the Jets' front office is either confident one of these three will stick or resigned to operating with contingency planning into the preseason finale. Historical precedent matters here: teams that enter the season without a settled kicker see elevated variance in close games, and New York's roster is built to compete in one-score contests. Folk made 85.5% of his field goals last year despite the team's dysfunction elsewhere; his replacement is unlikely to match that baseline.

For bettors, this creates two distinct edges. First, New York's team total and game totals carry elevated uncertainty when the placekicking position remains in flux—a three-point swing in close games can tip the balance between profit and loss on a close matchup. Second, if the Jets do sign Tucker, who has operated at 91% career accuracy but hasn't kicked in a game in four years, the market will likely underprice both the injury risk and the rust factor. Folk's departure also makes New York's red-zone efficiency harder to project, which means any prop tied to touchdown-versus-field-goal outcomes in Jets games becomes noisier than normal. The closer the final score margin, the greater the impact of who snaps on the final drive.