NY Jets find their Greg Zuerlein replacement ahead of Week 2

The Jets have a new kicker

Justin Fried

NY Jets, Austin Seibert / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The NY Jets will be without an important piece of their roster on Sunday as kicker Greg Zuerlein has been ruled out with a groin injury. The team has signed former Cleveland Browns draft pick Austin Seibert to replace him for what they hope is only one week.

Zuerlein practiced fully on Wednesday but injured his groin during Thursday's practice. The Jets originally listed him as questionable to play in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys before ruling him out on Saturday.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero is reporting that Seibert, who visited with the Jets on Friday, is the team's choice to replace Zuerlein. As SNY's Connor Hughes reported, the Jets called "others," but most did not want to join the team for what is likely a one-week rental situation.

That leaves the Jets with Seibert, who has bounced around between a few teams since entering the league as a fifth-round pick of the Browns in 2019.

Who is new NY Jets kicker Austin Seibert?

Seibert is one of the most successful college kickers of all time. He holds the FBS record for most career points by a kicker with 499 and was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year in 2018.

That's partially why the Browns used a fifth-round pick on him the following April. Unfortunately, Seibert wouldn't last long in Cleveland, making 25-of-29 field goals as a rookie but also making just 30-of-35 extra points.

After a missed extra point and field goal in Week 1 of 2020, the Browns waived Seibert after a little over one year with the team. He's since had stints with the Cincinnati Bengals and, most recently, the Detroit Lions.

Seibert kicked in three games for the Lions last season, making three of his five field-goal attempts. He did, however, make all 12 of his extra-point tries.

The Jets are somewhat scraping the bottom of the barrel here, as it isn't easy to find a one-week kicker rental on short notice. At the very least, Seibert has had some moderate degree of NFL success, making 80 percent of his career field-goal attempts.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh told reporters this week that Zuerlein's injury is not considered serious, and the team hopes to have him back next week. For now, however, it'll be the Austin Seibert show on Sunday.

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.