John Harbaugh, NY Giants’ reason to cut Jason Sanders could age poorly after NY Jets sign kicker

The New York Giants‘ unexpected roster cut to make room for JuJu Smith Schuster could backfire on them. After John Harbaugh and company cut Jason Sanders, the New York Jets acquired the veteran NFL kicker, raising eyebrows all across the league.

“John Harbaugh just said that Jason Sanders’ kicking style wasn’t a ‘perfect fit’ for the winds out here,” New York Post reporter Ryan Dunleavy stated on X.

As Dunleavy noted, Harbaugh and New York’s explanation for why Sanders wasn’t a good fit is one that was immediately put into question. Are the winds blowing through the Giants‘ facilities in East Rutherford any different than the gusts at Florham Park, the Jets‘ home? A 40-minute drive separates the two New York teams’ training grounds, and it’s hard to imagine the climatic conditions can be any different.

Sanders could prove Giants wrong

If Sanders struggles to establish himself with the Jets, however, then Harbaugh and the Giants may be proven right. If not, and on the contrary, Sanders goes on to make Gang Green’s 53-man roster for the 2026 NFL season and has a strong year while the G-Men’s kicking crew struggles (like last year), then it could be the first swing and a miss on Harbaugh’s strike count in the Big Apple.

Head coach John Harbaugh.

Regardless, Harbaugh has been around special teams his entire coaching career. At the very least, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. If there’s something about Sanders’ kicking style that bugs him in the beautiful days of spring, those concerns would only grow bigger deep into the season in the tundra-like environment that MetLife Stadium will become.

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Moreover, the Jets have been on the wrong end of wagers way too many times not to imagine they could make a mistake again. If it comes down to it, the odds will favor the Giants to get the decision right and the Jets to slip up.

Kicking competitions on Giants and Jets

Cutting Sanders is only one step along the way for the G-Men. Big Blue has two young kickers competing for the starting job, Dominic Zvada and Ben Sauls. Based on the reports out of their first day of competition, it’s safe to say who is leading the race.

As reported by Giants insiders, Zvada went 13-for-13 on field-goal attempts during the team’s practice, whereas Sauls struggled, connecting on four of 10. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but Sauls must pick up the pace if he wants to come away with the job.

As for the Jets, the signing of Sanders came hand in hand with the release of Younghoe Koo, also a former New York Giant. As it stands, Aaron Glenn’s team is setting up a head-to-head competition between Cade York and Jason Sanders.