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New York Jets placekicker Nick Folk reacting after an NFL game against the Atlanta Falcons.
One of the best New York Jets players on the roster is pondering retirement.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini revealed on Sunday, December 21, that placekicker Nick Folk “will talk it over with his family before deciding whether to continue his career.”
Folk, 41, is nearing the end of his 18th season in the NFL. He has spent the majority of it with the Jets in two separate stints (eight years).
Like a fine wine, Folk is getting better with age. He has converted 96.2% of his field goals, which is the second-best mark of his career. Folk is on a heater of a run the last three years at his advanced age.
Folk has converted 75 of 78 field goals over the last three seasons, two of those with the Tennessee Titans and this year with the Jets. That is the best conversion rate in the NFL over that span.
If Folk decides to hang it up, it won’t be because he has lost a step. Folk signed a one-year $2.87 million contract in 2025.
Well That Explains That…
On Friday, December 19, the Jets raised plenty of eyebrows. Cimini shared on social media that the Jets had some interesting players in for a series of workouts: special teamers.
All in all, they worked out four placekickers, a punter, and a longsnapper. Which led to a lot of people asking, why?
On the Jets’ final injury report ahead of the Week 16 New Orleans Saints contest, there weren’t any of their key special teams star listed. So what gives?
It appears the Jets are getting ahead of things just in case Folk decides to hang them up.
Jets Have Core Special Teamers Under Contract Moving Forward
Austin McNamara has been a breakout star for the Jets at punter. Smartly, the Jets made sure they had him under contract in case this situation presented itself.
This past offseason, he signed a two-year $1.8 million contract through the 2026 season. In 2027, McNamara is set to be an ERFA. That term means an exclusive rights free agent, which is a fancy term meaning the Jets will be able to keep him under cheap team control for an additional season.
The not often talked about Thomas Hennessy, the longest tenured player on the Jets roster, is also locked in for the foreseeable future. Hennessy, the Jets’ long snapper, signed a four-year $5.9 million contract. He isn’t scheduled to be a free agent until 2028.
You Can Trust the Guy up Top
It would stink seeing Folk hang up his cleats.
There was a fresh flavor of nostalgia when the Jets brought him back. Especially considering how bad the team is. For the 15th year in a row, they have missed the playoffs. The entire team doesn’t know what winning feels like, except for Folk, of course. During his first run with the Jets, he was on the last playoff team during the 2010-11 season.
Plus, he is playing really well, and you hate to lose players like that.
But if they do end up losing Folk this offseason, Jets fans can rest easy because of the man running the operation.
First-year special teams coordinator Chris Banjo has been a revelation this season. He has crafted the best special teams unit in the NFL and perhaps the best in NFL history.
If there is anyone you can trust to find a capable replacmenet, it is probably Banjo.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
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