Jets Claim Blake Grupe, Cut Jason Sanders After 2 Preseason Misses

Q: Can a young waiver wire pickup truly solve the Jets' kicking crisis right before Week 1?

Probably not by himself, but Blake Grupe gives the Jets a better immediate option than Jason Sanders and a plausible short-term fix before Week 1. The Jets made the move because Sanders’ preseason collapse left little confidence. He missed an extra point and a field goal in the finale, and there were already concerns about his leg strength and consistency after missing all of 2025 with a hip injury. For a team trying to settle one of its last open roster questions, keeping Sanders carried clear risk. Grupe is not an unknown flier. He has real NFL experience with the Saints and Colts, and his résumé is solid enough to justify the claim. Reports put him at 86-for-105 on career field goals, with a long of 60 yards, and he finished last season strongly with Indianapolis, making all of his kicks there. He only became available because he narrowly lost a preseason battle to Spencer Shrader, not because he was unplayable. That said, calling him a true solution would be premature. Grupe has also had uneven stretches, including missed kicks in preseason and inconsistency earlier in his career. Kicker reliability is often fragile, and arriving days before the opener leaves little margin for adjustment with a new holder, snapper and operation. So the Jets may have upgraded the position, but they have not erased the uncertainty. Grupe looks like a sensible bet, not a guaranteed answer. If he settles quickly, the crisis can fade fast; if not, the Jets could still be searching again soon.

Q: Was releasing Jason Sanders a calculated roster move or a panic reaction by the coaching staff?

It looked more like a calculated late roster correction than a pure panic move. The Jets had been signaling for days that kicker was still unsettled. Aaron Glenn called it a “fluid situation” and said the team would make the “right decision” rather than panic. That matters, because New York did not simply cut Jason Sanders after one bad night; it had already been tracking the waiver market and used its high waiver priority to claim Blake Grupe, a younger kicker with recent NFL production and a 60-yard make on his résumé. Sanders’ misses in the preseason finale clearly accelerated the decision. He had appeared to win the job over Cade York, but missing both an extra point and a field goal in the final tune-up is especially damaging at a position where trust is everything. His larger profile also raised concern: he missed all of last season with a hip injury, had already been released by the Giants, and reports throughout the summer questioned both his consistency and leg strength. Grupe was not an emergency flier. He had just lost a close competition in Indianapolis, has regular-season experience with the Saints and Colts, and finished last year strongly with the Colts. That gave the Jets a plausible upgrade at the exact moment final cuts created options. So while Sanders’ poor finale was the trigger, the move fits a broader roster-management decision: the Jets saw a better available option and acted quickly before Week 1.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Aug 31

Blake Grupe joined the Jets on Monday, and New York quickly released veteran Jason Sanders after initially planning a competition for the starting kicker job.
2 misses in the final preseason game — a field goal and an extra point — undercut Sanders' bid to open the regular season as the Jets' primary kicker.
Aaron Glenn had said earlier Monday that Grupe and Sanders would compete, but the Jets reversed course within hours and made Grupe the lone remaining option.