The New York Jets have been through a kicker carousel since veteran Greg Zuerlein was placed on injured reserve because of a knee issue. The situation got even weirder on Thursday, when Spencer Shrader was signed off the Jets' practice squad to the Kansas City Chiefs' 53-man roster. Now, Anders Carlson is the new option.
How everything happened
As soon as Zuerlein went on IR, the Jets signed veteran Riley Patterson to the active roster and Spencer Shrader to the practice squad. Patterson, though, was cut after one game, against the Houston Texans. Then, general manager Joe Douglas signed former Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers kicker Anders Carlson to the practice squad as well.
It was a somewhat smart move by New York to get an extra roster spot with two kickers on the practice squad, but it ended up being costly.
On Thursday, it was revealed that Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has a knee injury and is expected to miss four weeks. So the Chiefs went ahead and signed Spencer Shrader off the Jets' PS.
According to ESPN Jets beat writer Rich Cimini, the Jets even tried to promote Shrader to the active roster, but a practice squad player is essentially a free agent, and the kicker thought the opportunity with the Chiefs is better.
At that point, there was nothing that the Jets could do.
Moving forward
For the game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the Jets' kicker will be Anders Carlson. He was a sixth-round pick by the Packers in 2023 but had a rough rookie season and ended up being cut by Green Bay after a kicking competition in this year's training camp.
He played two games for the 49ers being elevated from the practice squad after starter Jake Moody suffered an injury. With Moody healthy again, Carlson was released and signed with the Jets.
After the bye week, Greg Zuerlein will be eligible to return from IR to play the final stretch of six games. The problem is that the 36-year-old veteran, who's been with the Jets since 2022, has had an abysmal performance this season. In eight games, he converted only nine of 15 field goals (60%), the worst percentage of his career, and also missed an extra point.
If Carlson plays as well as he did for the 49ers, converting all of his five field goals, the young player has a chance to be around for much longer.
