New York Jets to Give Embattled Veteran Kicker Another Shot Against Bills

Greg Zuerlein is back to kick for the New York Jets — or at least he will be on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich announced that Zuerlein, who has been on injured reserve for more than a month, would be activated ahead of the game and will handle the kicking duties one week after Anders Carlson struggled, missing a field goal and an extra point in a 19-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Because Carlson is on the 53-man roster, the Jets will have to make a move to clear a roster spot for Zuerlein by Saturday afternoon.

Last week Zuerlein started kicking on the side and then New York opened up his practice window this week. The Jets feel he’s ready to go. Whether he actually is will be determined against the Bills.

When he went on IR, Zuerlein had the worst field-goal percentage of any kicker in the NFL as he was 9-for-15 (60%), his worst since he went 66.7% in 2015.

His struggles prompted a kicking carousel that ultimately landed on Carlson, as Zuerlein admitted he was dealing with mechanical issues that were leading to misses on several important field goals and extra points.

As the Jets gave him time to work things out earlier this season, they also tried out several kickers, including Riley Patterson, Carlson and Spencer Shrader.

Patterson got the gig for a week before he was cut to elevate Shrader. He kicked well for New York, but it ended up turning into an audition for another team.

The Jets left Shrader on its practice squad after his debut and he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs to replace the injured Harrison Butker, who has now returned.

Carlson was drafted by the Packers in 2023 in the sixth round (No. 207) out of Auburn. Oddly, that selection was one Green Bay received from the Jets for quarterback Aaron Rodgers trade in 2023.

As a rookie with the Packers he made 81% (27-of-33) of his field goal attempts and 87% (34-of-39) of his extra points. He was 7-of-12 on field goals of 40 yards or longer, including 3-of-5 on field goals of 50 yards or longer.

The Packers released Carlson on Aug. 27. He signed with the 49ers practice squad on Oct. 15 and was added to the active roster for two games after an injury to Moody. In those two games he was 5-for-5 on field goals and 3-for-4 on extra points. His longest field goal with San Francisco was 55 yards.