Justin Tucker hasn't kicked in an NFL game since the Ravens cut him loose in May 2025, but he's still getting looks. The Jets put him through a workout this week as part of their ongoing search for kicking stability, according to Tom Pelissero, who reported the club is doing its due diligence on every option at the position.
Seven-time Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker was part of a group workout with the Jets, who are doing their due diligence on all options at the position. They claimed Blake Grupe off waivers and re-signed Jason Sanders to the practice squad this week.
That due diligence is happening even though New York already has bodies at the position. The Jets claimed Blake Grupe off waivers and this week re-signed Jason Sanders to the practice squad, so bringing in the NFL's all-time most accurate kicker isn't a sign of panic so much as a team keeping every door open. Rich Cimini framed it plainly: Grupe's on the 53, Sanders is on the practice squad, and the Jets are still "leaving no stone unturned."
The Jets did have Justin Tucker in for a workout. They have Blake Grupe on the 53 and Jason Sanders on the PS. Leaving no stone unturned apparently.
Tucker's résumé is not in question. Across 13 seasons with the Ravens he made 89.1% of his field goals, the best rate in NFL history, and he still holds the record for the longest field goal ever kicked, a 66-yarder from 2021. He's a five-time first-team All-Pro, a seven-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion. None of that saved his job in Baltimore, where the Ravens released him amid an NFL investigation into allegations from 16 massage therapists accusing him of inappropriate conduct during sessions dating back to 2012-2016. Tucker denied the allegations and called them false, but the league still suspended him for the first 10 games of the 2025 season, and no team has signed him since.
That backdrop is exactly why a workout, and not a signing, is the headline here. Joe Schad's question about whether New York or New Jersey could be the right landing spot captures where things actually stand — speculation, not a done deal.
Could New York/New Jersey be right fit for Justin Tucker?
For a Jets team still figuring out its identity under a new coaching staff, kicker is a low-cost, low-risk spot to keep auditioning talent. Tucker turns 36 this year and is a year removed from his worst statistical season, a 73.3% conversion rate in 2024 that ranked 31st in the league. Whether that was decline or distraction given everything off the field, nobody knows yet — which is presumably part of why the Jets wanted to see him kick in person before deciding anything. For now, Grupe and Sanders remain the in-house options, and Tucker heads back to free agency, older but still auditioning.