Jets move on from Cade York in kicking competition shift

The New York Jets have waived kicker Cade York, a move that reshapes the team’s kicking competition as it heads deeper into the 2026 roster-building cycle. The decision, reported by Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic and echoed by Pro Football Rumors, leaves the Jets with Jason Sanders as their only kicker “for the time being,” according to the report.

York, who was signed by the Jets in March, arrived with the expectation that he would be in the mix to compete for the role vacated by veteran Nick Folk. Folk’s departure in free agency this spring created the opening, and the York signing was positioned as part of the Jets’ search for the most reliable option at field goals and kickoffs.

With York now waived, the Jets’ immediate focus shifts to who else can win the job alongside Sanders, since the team’s kicking depth has been trimmed by the release. In practice, this means New York will have to evaluate other internal options and any potential external adds more quickly than it would have if York remained in camp.

For York, the waiver ends his opportunity with the Jets as an active candidate for the primary kicking duties. While the report frames York as having been given a chance to push for the position, it also underscores how quickly competition outcomes can change once teams narrow their options.

The Jets’ next steps are tied closely to the broader timeline of NFL roster decisions, where teams increasingly use late August and early September evaluations to lock in key specialists. Kicking is one of the most spot-driven roles on the roster, so a competition can tighten fast, especially when a team wants consistency before the regular season.

From the Jets’ perspective, the move also highlights how the team’s offseason kicker plan is still in flux. Folk’s spring exit removed a known veteran presence, and New York has not, at least through this report, settled on a single clear answer beyond Sanders.

What to watch next is whether the Jets add another kicker to restore depth and keep the competition alive, or whether Sanders is able to establish himself quickly as the stable choice. If New York does bring in reinforcements, the waiver of York will make that decision feel more urgent, not less, for the team’s early-season readiness.

In the Falcons-Jets kicker connection, the context matters because Folk is the thread tying both teams together. Folk took a deal with Atlanta, creating the vacancy New York needed to fill, and York’s brief runway with the Jets now marks one of the consequences of that offseason churn.