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DETROIT, MICHIGAN – SEPTEMBER 27: Head Coach Aaron Glenn of the New York Jets congratulates Jared Goff #16 of the Detroit Lions with their 31-24 win after the game at Ford Field on September 27, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The New York Jets have finally made a decision.
Brian Costello of the New York Post shared on X that the Jets have waived placekicker Blake Grupe and replaced him with Jason Sanders on the 53-man roster.
Sanders had been on the practice squad. In each of the first three weeks of the season, the Jets have elevated him for the games on Sunday. However, after the Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions, Sanders ran out of elevations. So if the Jets wanted to keep trotting Sanders out there on the field, they were forced to sign him to the active roster.
The Jets are waiving kicker Blake Grupe and signing kicker Jason Sanders to the active roster, per source. Sanders has been elevated from the practice squad in first 3 weeks and is 5-of-6 on field goal tries.
The Jets later confirmed the news on social media.
Tip of the Cap to the Veteran
It has been a wild roller coaster this offseason for Jets kickers.
They started with veteran Nick Folk and over the past seven months bounced between 10 kickers, give or take. After Sanders shanked an extra point and shorted a 50-plus-yard field goal attempt in the preseason finale, it appeared the carousel would continue to spin.
He was released and replaced by Grupe, but interestingly, he was brought back on the practice squad. Apparently, Grupe must have struggled during practice because ahead of Week 1 the Jets went back to Sanders.
It didn’t start great with Sanders missing a 54-yard field goal, but credit to him, he overcame that mistake. This season, through the first three games, Sanders is 5-of-6 on his field goal attempts, and he is a perfect 5-for-5 on his extra point attempts:
2-for-2 (30-39 yards)
1-for-1 (40-49 yards)
2-of-3 (50+ yards)
“A seventh-round pick (No. 229 overall) of Miami in the 2018 NFL Draft, Sanders, a New Mexico product, ranks No. 3 in Dolphins franchise history with 826 points. His 84.6% field-goal percentage is the highest (minimum 50 attempts) in team annals, and his 221 field goals are second only to Olindo Mare,” Jets senior reporter Eric Allen wrote in a press release.
This is a developing story and we’ll provide new details as they become available.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.