$8.4 million Jets veteran should be cut after Bills bust game

Heavy on jets

The New York Jets fell to 2-4 after a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6.

There were many reasons why the Jets lost on Monday Night Football, but the most notable of them was that their kicker stalled the game.

Greg Zuerlein finished the day second of four with two painful errors. The final three Jets drives of the game included a missed 32-yard field goal, a missed 43-yard field goal and an Aaron Rodgers interception.

It didn't take long for fans on social media to ask if the Jets should decide to move on from their veteran placekicker.

“Cut it tomorrow,” one fan replied.

Zuerlein problems aren't just in this Bills game

He didn't perform well in that Buffalo game – up close, but that was a problem.

In Week 4, Zuerlein had the chance to play the hero.

The Jets had the ball at their own 40-yard line and trailed 10-9 with 1:27 left in the game. Rodgers and this Jets offense got the ball to the Denver Broncos 32-yard line with 47 seconds left in the game.

Zuerlein missed the kick, the Broncos won the game and the Jets lost it.

If he took the kick against Denver and made his field goals against Buffalo, the Jets would be 4-2, not 2-4.

In the New England Patriots game in Week 3, Zuerlein missed a 45-yard field goal.

Go back to preseason and Zuerlein looked sloppy. Against the New York Giants, Zuerlein missed two more shots from 33 yards and 47 yards, respectively.

Last offseason, the Jets signed Zuerlein to a two-year, $8.4 million contract that included $4.2 million in guaranteed money. If the team decided to move on from him, it would have to eat up $4.1 million in dead cap money in 2024, according to Spotrac.

Jets coach gives strong vote of confidence

Despite public pressure outside the organization to take action against Zuerlein, that doesn't appear to be the direction the team will go.

After the game, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich loudly expressed his confidence in his placekicker.

“Where we need to get better, when we have opponents who score, we need to score. This entire locker room, this entire organization and I hope this entire fan base has great confidence in Greg. We will have winning moments this season where he will win games for us. We know that and I believe it 100%.” Ulbrich said on Monday, October 14th. “I mean everything you look closely at, but I'm not worried about Greg. I know this man’s track record and I know that he will find his rhythm here and we will get going.”

Historically, Zuerlein was an incredibly reliable kicker with a monster leg. However, the psyche of placekickers is extremely volatile. One day they're an elite kicker who can't miss, and the next day they can't miss the broadside of a barn.

Ulbrich decides to stick with his man, which makes sense for an interim coach after his first game. However, these blown games will be the difference between making the playoffs or not.

Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. The New York native is co-host of Cumulus Media's morning show “The Manchild Show with Boy Green.” Prior to 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.