Jets Country

Jets to Hold Kicking Competition During Practice This Week

The New York Jets will have a kicking competition between Matt Ammendola and Alex Kessman before facing the Philadelphia Eagles, per head coach Robert Saleh.

Max Goodman

Matt Ammendola's days as the Jets' starting kicker could be numbered.

According to head coach Robert Saleh, New York will hold a kicking competition this week to see who lines up to kick field goals on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Ammendola has kicked in all of New York's 11 games to start the season, making just 13 of his 19 field goal attempts. Now, he'll battle it out with Alex Kessman, a kicker that the Jets signed to their practice squad late last month. 

Kessman signed with the Chargers this spring as an undrafted free agent out of Pitt. At the collegiate level, the kicker drilled 69 of his 96 field goals (71.9%), finishing third in school history with 341 points. 

Ammendola also kicked his way into the history books in college, nailing 60 of his 78 field-goal attempts (76.9 percent) at Oklahoma State, missing just four of his 183 extra-point tries. 

"We’re going to open it up for a little competition. Get those two guys working and may the best man win," Saleh told reporters on Wednesday, cracking a smile.

Ammendola was doing a respectable job through the first five games of the year (and the first five games of his NFL career), but he's missed five of 12 attempts since then. He's missed three field goals in the last two games alone, a source of frustration for Saleh and the Jets' offense, a unit that frequently struggles to finish drives and put points on the board. 

Asked if the Jets held a kicking competition last week, Saleh said no. 

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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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