Nick Folk is back in place with the Jets. The veteran kicker signed on Tuesday, head coach Aaron Glenn announced. 
Today’s move comes after Folk took part in a free agent visit (as noted by Brian Costello of the New York Post). The 40-year-old’s meeting with the team has resulted in an agreement in short order. Two kickers were in place for the Jets as of yesterday, but one of them – undrafted rookie Caden Davis – has been waived.
Folk was in New York from 2010-16. The early portion of that span included less-than-stellar success rates on field goal attempts (but still an improvement from his final season with the Cowboys). Starting in 2013, Folk connected on at least 81.3% of his field goal tries for the remainder of his stint with the Jets.
That was followed by a brief string of appearances with the Buccaneers, and (after not playing in 2018) a run of success with the Patriots. Folk was good on over 89% of his field goal attempts with New England, a team which added Chad Ryland in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. In a move which came as little surprise based on that investment, the Pats released Folk and went with Ryland – who struggled mightily during his rookie campaign and lasted only one year in New England.
Folk caught on with the Titans and remained there for the past two seasons. Despite concerns about a drop-off due to age, the Arizona product led the NFL in field goal percentage during his debut Tennessee campaign. Folk did the same last year, and he made it clear after the season ended that he intended to continue his career in 2025. That will not come about with the Titans, but a familiar landing spot has emerged in time for a training camp competition.
At the age of 40, Folk will of course not be seen as a long-term answer for the Jets as they seek a post-Greg Zuerlein kicker. Zurlein was released in May, creating a vacancy at the position after he occupied it for three years. Folk has 242 games to his name, making him far more of a known commodity than his competition for the gig. New York also has Harrison Mevis – who signed with the Panthers as a UDFA last spring but did not see any game time – in the fold. He will spend the remainder of camp attempting to fend off a challenge from one of the league’s most experienced producers at the position.
i mean i guess thats cool
I never understand it when teams go to camp with multiple kickers but none of them have any previous NFL experience. Even if you don’t keep the vet in the long run, it’s worth having one around temporarily for the leadership.
Head Coach: “He provided us with great leadership while he was here getting his cup of coffee… but now we’re cutting him”.
Surprising development.
Rumor was he was going into the Music Business.
To become a FOLK Singer!!
Jets keep turning to old kickers.
It’s kind of fascinating to me how some teams seem to never get the kicker position right. Granted a lot of luck is involved, but when a team gets in a “kicker rut”, it seems like they go through 3 guys a season for a decade or more without getting it right.
Perhaps the reason Larry King was married eight times was because he was looking for a wife who was a reliable kicker 🙂
“I never learned anything while I was talking” —Larry King, who also probably said a lot of stuff he shouldn’t have if he was married 8 times
New England probably could have stuck with Ryland, since they ended up cutting Folk-he ended up going 80+% with Arizona in his second year, which wasn’t the best in the league, but closer to acceptable. Cutting Folk for him and then turning him loose sort of turned into a lose-lose situation for the Patriots-I mean, it’s not like you can get that pick back.