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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Rather than cutting kicker Greg Zuerlein, whose slump has played a key role in their disappointing season, the New York Jets simply placed him on injured reserve Wednesday with an injury that wasn’t disclosed until the previous day.
The Jets’ kicker for the game Thursday night against the Houston Texans will be either Riley Patterson or Spencer Shrader, both of whom were signed to the practice squad Wednesday. They were among six kickers who auditioned for the job Tuesday at MetLife Stadium.
Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich was noncommittal on Zuerlein, 36, after Sunday’s 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots, a game in which he missed a 44-yard field goal and an extra point.
Zuerlein’s days appeared numbered, but he showed up on the injury report Tuesday. The right-footed kicker has an ailing left knee, which buys the Jets some time to sort out the kicking mess.
“May the best man kick,” said Ulbrich, who didn’t disclose Zuerlein’s injury in a post-practice news conference Tuesday.
Zuerlein, in his third season with the Jets, was one of their most reliable players in 2023. They thought enough of him to give him the biggest contract in team history for a kicker — two years, $8.4 million, including $4.2 million in guarantees. But they have witnessed a stunning downfall this season from Zuerlein, whose misses have contributed to three of New York’s six losses.
Before Sunday, Zuerlein missed a potential game winner from 50 yards in the final seconds in a one-point loss to the Denver Broncos. He also misfired from 32 and 43 yards in a three-point loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Zuerlein is 9-of-15 on field goals — a career-low 60% success rate. He joined Brett Maher as the only kickers to miss six field-goal attempts in their team’s first eight games of the season over the last three years.
In the fourth quarter, Zuerlein is 2-for-5, including 1-for-4 when the game is within three points.
The Jets, who began the season with Super Bowl aspirations, dropped to 2-6 with their fifth straight loss. Ulbrich said after Sunday’s loss that he had no regrets in staying with Zuerlein for so long, but it became clear that something had to be done.
Patterson and Shrader are both 25, but they have different levels of experience. Patterson has kicked for the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns, compiling an 88% success rate on field goals (59-of-67). Shrader has kicked in only one game — this season for the Indianapolis Colts. He had no field goal attempts, but he was 3-of-3 on extra points.