Gang Green Nation
Taking a look at an old friend at kicker
The New York Jets recently signed veteran placekicker Nick Folk. Let’s therefore look at Folk in more detail.
Jets fans will be familiar with Folk, who kicked for the team from 2010 to 2016. However, he’s now 40, and seeking to prove he can still kick at a high level as he will compete with Harrison Mevis for the Jets’ kicker role. Although Folk’s only Pro Bowl appearance was all the way back in 2007, he’s been one of the best kickers in the league in recent seasons and led the league in field goal percentage in 2023 and 2024.
Background
Folk was named as a two-star high school recruit by Rivals and headed to Arizona in 2003, but his career got off to a slow start. He missed all three of his field goals in his freshman season and then made 8 of 13 as a sophomore and 7 of 11 as a junior. He was 15 for 20 and named as an all-PAC 10 after his senior season in 2006.
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Folk in the seventh round of the 2007 draft and he made an immediate impact with the Cowboys as he went to the Pro Bowl after having made 26 of 31 field goals and all 53 of his extra points.
Folk was good again in 2008 as he made 20 of 22 field goals and all 42 of his extra points, then started the 2009 season strongly by making 14 of his first 17 field goals despite having to return from offseason surgery. However, he then went into a slump and missed seven of his next 11 field goals so the Cowboys cut him.
The Jets picked him up in 2010, and he seemed to have put his 2009 struggles behind him as he made at least 75 percent of his field goals in each of the next seven seasons in New York.
His best season was 2013, which saw him named as a PFF All Pro after he made 33 of 36 field goals, including a then-franchise record 56-yarder. Folk also set a Jets record by making 23 field goals in a row.
He had a strong season in 2016, as he made 87 percent of his field goal attempts, but was still a cap casualty after the season.
Folk’s next stop was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he only played four games with them before ending up on injured reserve. It seemed like his career might be over as the Bucs released him after the season and he was out of the league in 2018.
After a brief stint in the AAF with the Arizona Hotshots, Folk was a late season signing for the New England Patriots in 2019 and also kicked for them in 2020, 2021 and 2022, although he was released and placed on the practice squad several times over that period.
His performance in New England was spectacular, though....
