Oh no, not again.
On Friday, September 11, the New York Jets announced that Jason Sanders will be the team’s starting placekicker for the season opener against the Tennessee Titans.
It’s a surprising decision considering the Jets cut Sanders after his poor showing in the preseason finale. Now he’s back in a critical role.
ESPN New York’s Jake Asman said, “This is leaving Xavier Gipson on the roster for Week 1 last year all over again. Good lord.”
Asman is referencing what transpired last year at this time. Gipson struggled as a return man with the Jets during training camp and the preseason. The fan base was incredibly worried about his issues and wanted the team to move on from him. Head coach Aaron Glenn stuck by Gipson despite a lot of outside noise to part ways.
Gipson ended up having a critical fumble in the Week 1 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh recovered the fumble and immediately scored a touchdown. That ended up being the difference maker in the game. The Steelers won the game 34-32, and the Jets started the season with a 0-7 record. Following the contest, the Jets cut Gipson.
Social Media Overreacts to Jets’ Decision
“Disaster written all over it for the Jets,” ironically, an account called “Optimistic Jets” posted.
“I genuinely think Aaron Glenn is incapable of making the correct decisions in just about every single situation that requires him to make one,” The Gang Green Gridiron Report responded.
“Id be pretty aggressive going for it on 4th downs Sunday,” NFL analyst Will Parkinson said.
“This is a terrible decision,” Pardon My Meme said.
“Well that is surprising,” Jets analyst Joe Caporoso said.
“Everyone favorite GM might just cost the Jets another Week 1 matchup,” Jets analyst Dylan Tereman stated.
Your Only Hope as a Jets Fan
It’s been a bizarre offseason for the Jets, I won’t lie to you. The kicker position for the Jets has been the equivalent of the Defence Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts.
The position was cursed by Tom Riddle, aka Voldemort, and no teacher lasted longer than a single school year during Harry Potter’s time at school. If you’re a Jets fan reading this, you’re likely feeling very nervous heading into Week 1 regarding this kicker decision.
You should be, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Sanders, 30, has a long track record of success. He is a former first-team All-Pro at the position. Now, of course, that was six years ago (2020), but it did happen. Sanders missed all of last season due to a hip injury. Before that issue, Sanders had been an incredibly reliable placekicker for the Miami Dolphins.
He missed the 2025 season, but the 2024 (90.2% conversion rate) and 2023 (85.7% conversion rate) seasons were fantastic. You just have to hope that last year was a blip on the radar and the injury hasn’t robbed him of his superpower of converting field goals.
Jets Catching Heat for Making Same Mistake Again: ‘Good Lord’