After a revolving door of kickers came through One Jets Drive in 2019, New York is in the market for a legman once again.
The Jets planned on Chandler Catanzaro being their starting place kicker last season, but he decided to retire during training camp. Then came Kaare Vedvik, who lasted all of one game for the Jets. They finished the season with Sam Ficken, who had his ups and downs and is now an impending free agent.
Kicking was a huge problem for the Jets in 2019 and they need to find stability at the position. They can’t lose games because of their kicker missing an extra point or field goal.
So, let’s take a look at what kickers New York can target in free agency.
Ka’imi Fairbairn
Ka’imi Fairbain is one of the youngest available kickers and he has been pretty consistent over his three-year career.
Fairbain has made at least 80 percent of his field goals in three seasons with the Texans. His best season came in 2018 when he went 37-42 on field goal attempts. Last season, Fairbain didn’t get as many opportunities, but was 20-25.
The only concern with Fairbain is kicking from 50+ yards out. In 2019, Fairbain made 50 percent of his field goals from 50 or more yards. He was better from that distance the two previous years at 66.7 and 75 percent.
At 26 years old, Fairbain would be a solid get for the Jets. He won’t come cheap, but if the Jets want to have a consistent kicker, then they should pay Fairbain what he’s worth.
Dan Bailey
Dan Bailey had a resurgence last season with the Vikings and proved he still has enough leg in him to kick in the NFL.
Bailey was 27-29 on field goal attempts in 2019, but did miss four extra points. However, 2019 was Bailey’s best season since 2015. He started to fall off in 2016 before being released by the Cowboys in 2017. The Vikings gave him a chance in 2018 and he struggled once again. But the Vikings stuck with him and Bailey delivered a strong season last year.
Just like Fairbain, Bailey won’t come cheap either. At 32 years old, this will likely be his last big paycheck. The Jets should be willing to pay top dollar for a kicker in 2020 after watching last year’s debacle.
Greg Zuerlein
Greg Zeurlein is coming off one of the worst seasons of his eight-year career, but there is no doubt that he can still kick at a high level.
Zuerlein missed nine field goals in 2019 after only missing four in 2018. There were games in which Zuerlein looked like the best kicker in the sport and other times when he couldn’t make it through the uprights for the life of him. But what makes Zuerlein so great is his ability to kick from distance. He’s hit at least one field goal from 55 or more yards in six of his eight seasons.
Luckily for the Jets, the down year that Zuerlein had could affect the amount of money he gets. It would still be a decent amount of money, but it would be worth it for the Jets to have a kicker with his skill set.
Kai Forbath
If the Jets want to continue not paying premium money for a kicker, then Kai Forbath could be an option.
He was with the Patriots and Cowboys last season, but only kicked in four games. In those four games, though, Forbath made all 11 of his field goal attempts and all seven of his extra point attempts. Forbath is a kicker who doesn’t have a lot of leg, but can drill the chip shots.
The lack of playing time over the last two seasons is a concern, but if the Jets want a veteran kicker who is relatively cheap, then signing Forbath for one season wouldn’t hurt.
