Justin Tucker was released by the Ravens after the 2024 season. Greg Fiume / Getty Images
Sept. 2, 2026 Updated 5:37 pm EDT
Despite claiming Blake Grupe on waivers Monday, the New York Jets worked out three more kickers Wednesday, including Justin Tucker, a team source told The Athletic on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The Jets hosted Tucker, Michael Badgley and Josh Karty. No signing is imminent as the Jets intend to give Grupe a real shot at winning the job for Week 1. The Jets also brought back veteran kicker Jason Sanders, released Sunday, to the practice squad Tuesday.
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Tucker is the biggest name the Jets have brought in since the departure of last year’s kicker, Nick Folk, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons in March. Tucker, 36, is an eight-time All-Pro but hasn’t kicked in an NFL game since 2024 and hasn’t been on an NFL roster since the Ravens released him in May 2025. While a free agent last year, Tucker served a 10-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy after multiple massage therapists accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior.
Sixteen massage therapists in the Baltimore area shared accounts of inappropriate sexual behavior by Tucker with the Baltimore Banner; the alleged incidents dated back to 2012. Tucker did not appeal the suspension, saying he wanted to “put this difficult episode behind him and get back on the field as soon as possible,” in a statement released by his agent in June 2025. Tucker denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations “unequivocally false.”
Tucker’s last season in Baltimore was statistically the worst of his career. He converted 73.3 percent of his field goal attempts and missed two extra points.
Grupe spent the last five games of 2025 in Indianapolis after being released by the Saints in November. He was the kicker in New Orleans in 2023 and 2024. Badgley has kicked in 73 NFL games while Karty has kicked in 25.
Sanders had initially been declared the winner of a training-camp kicking competition with Cade York but then proceeded to miss an extra point and badly miss a field goal attempt in the preseason finale against the New York Giants, leading to this release. This offseason alone, the Jets have signed and released five different kickers: Lenny Krieg, Will Ferrin, Younghoe Koo, York and Sanders.
Sep 3, 2026
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