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Jets' Kicker Sam Ficken Lands on Injured Reserve After Missing Two Extra Points on Sunday

The New York Jets placed kicker Sam Ficken and running back La'Mical Perine on the team's injured reserve on Tuesday. Ficken missed two extra points on Sunday

Max Goodman

After Jets kicker Sam Ficken missed two extra points on Sunday against the Chargers, it was clear something was wrong. 

As it turns out, the fourth-year kicker wasn't completely healthy in his return from a groin injury.

New York placed Ficken on the injured reserve on Tuesday, along with running back La'Mical Perine who has a high ankle sprain. Both Ficken and Perine will now be sidelined for at least the next three weeks.

READ: What La'Mical Perine's Ankle Injury Means For the Jets

In their place, running back Josh Adams and tight end Ross Travis were added to the Jets' active roster Tuesday afternoon.

Jets head coach Adam Gase had said on Sunday, moments after the loss to Los Angeles, that he was "surprised" Ficken missed multiple extra points. After all, Ficken started the season connecting on all six extra points and going 9-for-10 on field goal attempts. That said, the Penn State product had been out for the previous four weeks (counting New York's bye week) recuperating from a groin injury. 

"He looked fine in practice," Gase said on Sunday. "We went through all of the evaluations that we felt we should go. We felt like that’s who we were going to go to if he was healthy."

READ: Another Former Jets Defender Lands With a Contender

Ficken must've been healthy in practice because Sergio Castillo had been doing a fabulous job filling in since Week 7. If you don't count a blocked kick in Kansas City, Castillo was perfect in his first three NFL games (four extra points and six field goals).

In other words, there was no need to rush Ficken back if he wasn't completely good to go. 

READ: The Winless Jets Are Among the NFL's Best at Kicker

On a conference call with reporters on Monday, Gase said he and the organization's coaching staff will be "talking through the kicker [situation] over the next couple days." Evidently placing Ficken on the IR was the conclusion of those discussions.

Moving forward, New York (0-10) takes on the Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders at MetLife Stadium before traveling back to the West Coast for showdowns with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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