Since 2019, Jason Myers has been an excellent kicker for the Seattle Seahawks, but the position lives a stressful life in the NFL. A team only carries one, of course, and while kickers get some disrespect as far as being "real" football players, a good one can make the difference between making the playoffs and not.
Myers might have been the difference between winning the Super Bowl or not last season, but he didn't have a good preseason, and a kicker can lose their grip on the roster quickly. Good teams cannot afford to keep a kicker who isn't going to be trusted to make makeable field goals and extra points.
In the preseason, Myers missed both kinds (though not everything was his fault), and should he miss the same kicks early in the season, the Seahawks have to look at other options. One of those might currently reside with the New York Jets, and only temporarily.
If the Seattle Seahawks are froced to need a new kicker, Blake Grupe could be the guy
Blake Grupe was in a kicker battle with the Indianapolis Colts in training camp and the preseason with Spencer Shrader. Grupe was better in camp, but Shrader was far better in the preseason, and he won the job, rightfully so. That doesn't mean Grupe is a bad kicker, though. Indianapolis simply had two kickers that could have been the one for many teams.
Somehow, the Jets are going to screw their kicker spot up, though. They needed a kicker and picked up Grupe after he was waived by Indy during final roster cuts. Instead of just going with their new guy, New York has invited several other kickers to compete for the spot. Of course, the Jets are horribly run, so them making a mess of an easy answer is nothing new.
This means Grupe could be on the streets again soon, and if the Seahawks suddenly have a problem at a position that seemed safe, Grupe could be the answer. Seattle is obviously going to give Myers, who was outstanding during the playoffs and Super Bowl last season when the pressure on him was the highest, every chance to keep being the guy, but Seattle can't wait too long.
FanSided's Adam Fromal, for instance, had Myers ranked last in terms of kicker performance rankings for the 2026 preseason. Myers was last by a wide margin, too.
If Myers' preseason issues roll into the regular season, problems will quickly arise. In the three seemingly meaningless games ahead of the 2026 season, Myers missed two of his four extra point attempts and three of his five field goal tries. Two of those five came within 50 yards.
The two missed extra-point tries were longer than normal ones because the Seattle Seahawks had been flagged for excessive celebration after a touchdown, making Myers' extra points 48-yard attempts instead of the usual 33 yards. Still, in today's NFL, a kicker should be able to make a kick from 48 yards with no issues.
Blake Grupe has done that during his career. He has made 19 of 27 kicks beyond 50 yards, and only struggled for a short time in part of last season with the New Orleans Saints. After he was released and signed with the Colts, he made all 11 of his field goal tries (four from beyond 50 yards) and all of his 10 extra point attempts.
Again, hopefully what Seattle Seahawks fans saw from the 35-year-old Jason Myers in preseason is not the truth, and he reverts to form in the regular season. If he struggles through the first few games, the team might be forced to make a change, and Blake Grupe could be the answer.
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