Joshua Karty Works Out for the Jets: What His Return Bid Reveals About NFL Kicking Volatility

Table of Contents

1. Key Highlights:
2. Introduction
3. From Record-Setting Rookie to Free Agent
4. Why the Jets Called: Context Behind the Workout
5. How Teams Decide: Performance, Fit and the “Numbers Thing”
6. Harrison Mevis: The Replacement Who Brought Stability
7. What Teams Look For in Free-Agent Kickers During Workouts
8. The Psychology of Missing: How Mental Factors Shape Kicking Careers
9. Historical Comparisons: Comebacks and Cautions
10. What Karty Offers: Strengths, Shortcomings and Opportunity
11. Scenarios for Karty’s Next Step
12. The Broader NFL Kicking Market: Supply, Demand and Margins
13. What Coaches See on Film and Why It Matters
14. The Role of Coaching and Training in a Kicker’s Rehabilitation
15. Real-World Examples: How Other Kickers Navigated Turnarounds
16. How the Jets’ Special Teams Could Shift with a New Kicker
17. Financial and Contractual Realities for Free-Agent Kickers
18. Long-Term Outlook: Karty’s Chances and the Market Clock
19. Looking Ahead for the Rams and the Jets
20. FAQ

Key Highlights:

• Former Los Angeles Rams rookie-record scorer Joshua Karty is auditioning for the New York Jets, underscoring how quickly kicking status can shift in the NFL.
• Karty’s profile — a leg that can reach 50+ yards paired with an uneven mid-career stretch — makes him a logical candidate for workouts, while Harrison Mevis’s emergence in Los Angeles illustrates how teams pivot when consistency falters.

Introduction

A single workout can change the trajectory of a specialist's career. Joshua Karty, the Rams' sixth-round pick who set rookie scoring marks in Los Angeles, is back on the market and trying to re-enter the league. The New York Jets invited him in for a tryout this week, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The visit surfaces familiar themes in pro football: kickers rise and fall rapidly, roster decisions hinge on small margins, and teams keep low-cost options on hand to guard against immediate concerns.

Karty's arc — rookie heroics, a midseason dip, a short-term signing with Arizona and now a New York audition — offers a compact case study in how NFL franchises evaluate, replace and re-evaluate specialists. This story looks beyond the workout to examine why Karty’s skillset still matters, what the Jets need from a kicker, why Harrison Mevis stabilized the Rams, and how NFL organizations make these "numbers" and fit decisions. The answer is not only a snapshot of one player's status but also a look at the fragile market for NFL kickers and the narrow performance margins that separate rostered specialists from free agency.

From Record-Setting Rookie to Free Agent

Joshua Karty arrived in Los Angeles with measurable upside and draft pedigree. Selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, he delivered immediate returns. As a rookie he converted 29 of 34 field-goal attempts and nailed six of seven tries from 50 yards or more. He scored 119 points that season, a franchise record for a rookie kicker and a total that tied a longstanding Rams mark for made field goals by a rookie.

Those numbers create a baseline for roster security. Kickers with range and reliability on long attempts are premium assets. NFL teams prize specialists who can expand play-calling in late-game scenarios and add points from distance when drives stall. Karty’s rookie profile checked those boxes.

The 2025 season, however, showed how quickly that status can change. Through eight games, Karty made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts — a 66.7% success rate — and connected on 23 of 26 extra-point attempts. The Rams responded by turning to Harrison Mevis, who wrested kicking duties away and prompted the Rams to waive Karty on Nov. 28. Los Angeles re-signed him to the practice squad briefly, and then Arizona signed him to their active roster in December. The Cardinals ultimately released Karty in June, though their special teams coordinator later described him as "truly a starting kicker in this league" even after committing to Chad Ryland.

Karty’s sequence — rookie success, midseason struggles, waiver, brief new-team stay and free agency — is not uncommon. The specialist position reacts faster than almost any other in football; a string of misses or a single high-profile error can erase months of prior trust. Yet the same volatility creates opportunities: teams audition proven-leg kickers on short notice because the cost of a roster mistake is low compared to the cost of leaving a position vulnerable.

Why the Jets Called: Context Behind the Workout

The Jets’ workout of Karty matters in context. New York claimed Blake Grupe off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 31 and released veteran Jason Sanders around the same time. Grupe made all 11 of his field-goal attempts across five games with Indianapolis last season — a performance that earns attention for its accuracy. Sanders, meanwhile, entered free agency after being cut.

Why audition Karty if Grupe made all his attempts last season? Several reasons explain this type of roster decision-making:

• Competition breeds reliability. Even with a dependable option on the roster, teams bring in kickers to maintain competitive pressure. Coaches use the preseason and training camp to see whether any challenger can produce more consistent or more valuable outcomes on kickoffs and long-distance field goals.
• Injury insurance and contingency plans. A leg injury or a sudden slump can force a team to pivot quickly. Having a list of recently tested specialists shortens the time between problem and replacement.
• Differing skill sets. Grupe may bring accuracy inside certain ranges, while Karty’s demonstrated range from 50+ yards and kickoff placement could offer complementary strengths. Teams weigh situational value: a kicker who reliably converts 45-49-yard tries is not interchangeable with one who makes 50-yard attempts at a high clip.
• Contract and cap flexibility. Specialists are inexpensive compared with other positions. Giving a free-agent kicker a workout is low-risk from roster-building and salary-cap perspectives.

For Karty, a Jets workout is a practical audition: show the coaches a reliable leg, prove you can hang with game-pace pressure and make a case for either immediate elevation or a practice-squad role. For the Jets, it’s cheap insurance and potential upside.

How Teams Decide: Performance, Fit and the “Numbers Thing”

When Sean McVay described the Rams’ decision to move on from Karty as “exclusively a numbers thing,” he captured a crucial truth: kicking decisions frequently reduce to math. Coaches and front offices track conversion rates by distance, left-right splits, game and ambient conditions, kickoff touchback rates and even success rates in high-leverage situations. That quantitative backbone meets qualitative judgments about mental makeup and practice-room consistency.

Key metrics that drive kicking decisions:

• Field-goal percentage overall and by distance band (0–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50+).
• Extra-point conversion, especially since the move of the PAT back created longer attempts and fewer automatic conversions.
• Kickoff touchback percentage and expected opponent starting field position.
• Clutch metrics: fourth-quarter and late-game conversion rates, and performance in high-pressure environments.
• Environmental-adjusted success: how a kicker performs in wind, cold, or at altitude.
• Consistency in practice and preseason — coaches observe technique and routine under simulated pressure.

Organizations layer scouting notes and coaching feedback on top of the numbers. A kicker who misses one gaffe but otherwise posts elite metrics may be retained. Conversely, a string of inconsistent practice performances that align with misses on game day will tilt the decision toward change. Teams also consider roster construction: if there’s confidence in coverage and offense, a team might tolerate a kicker with longer-range but less consistency; if not, they’ll opt for the steadier boot.

The Rams’ pivot to Mevis exemplifies the calculus. Mevis’ numbers after taking over — a high conversion rate and perfect PAT success in his appearances, capped by postseason reliability — produced a clear signal. That level of performance tends to stop debate.

Harrison Mevis: The Replacement Who Brought Stability

Harrison Mevis’s tenure with the Rams provides a counterpoint to Karty’s volatility. After assuming kicking duties, Mevis converted 12 of 13 field-goal attempts in nine regular-season appearances, a 92.3% success rate, and went 39-for-39 on extra points. He preserved that consistency into the playoffs, making all six of his postseason field-goal attempts and all nine PATs, including a game-winning kick in a divisional-round victory at Chicago.

Those numbers create a security blanket for coaching staffs. When a replacement not only stops the bleeding but exceeds expectations, teams are inclined to commit. The Rams listed Mevis as their lone kicker on the initial 53-man roster for 2026 and described him as “entrenched” in the role. Entrenchment matters: once a kicker builds a streak of success, teams allocate fewer roster slots and less evaluation time to alternatives.

Mevis’s case reinforces two ideas. First, opportunity is immediate for a kicker who can deliver results; second, teams prefer to avoid tinkering once they find a reliable specialist. That dynamic narrows the window for someone like Karty to regain a job with the same franchise, which explains why workouts for him are now taking place with other organizations.

What Teams Look For in Free-Agent Kickers During Workouts

Workouts are not casual kicking sessions. Teams deploy a focused evaluation protocol that tests both physical mechanics and mental fortitude.

Typical components of a kicker workout:

• Pre-determined live kicks: Teams ask for a mix of field goals at various distances (e.g., 33, 43, 48, 55 yards) and directions to test range and directional control.
• Pressure scenarios: Simulated game moments where a kicker must make multiple kicks in sequence or after high-intensity sprints, to approximate late-game fatigue.
• Kickoffs: Touchback rate matters; teams evaluate both depth and directional placement for coverage strategy.
• Short-range consistency: High-percentage kicks from 25–35 yards are still essential in tight games.
• On-field routine assessment: How the kicker approaches timing with the holder and snapper, tempo control and pre-kick rituals.
• Medical check and historical film review: Teams consult past game footage for consistency, technique anomalies and injury history.
• Interviews: Coaches probe for routine, preparation habits, and past in-game psychology to assess whether the kicker can handle pressure.

From a roster-building standpoint, special teams coaches ask whether the kicker will reduce variance over a season. Mevis’s postseason perfection delivered variance-reducing confidence for the Rams. Karty must show, in a compressed window, that prior misses were deviations rather than a new norm.

The Psychology of Missing: How Mental Factors Shape Kicking Careers

Kicking exists at the intersection of mechanical precision and mental steadiness. Unlike quarterbacks or other specialists, kickers operate with few plays and frequent downtime. A missed kick reverberates: it rewrites narratives about reliability and triggers roster reconsideration.

Several psychological elements play out:

• Recency bias: Recent misses weigh more heavily than a larger pattern of success. Coaches and front offices respond to what has happened lately because the next game is what matters.
• Routine and ritual: Kickers rely on meticulous pre-kick routines for consistency. Interruptions or over-adjustments under scrutiny can break that rhythm.
• External pressure: Media and fan criticism can amplify stress, particularly for younger players or recent draftees. The resulting performance anxiety becomes observable in practice and game motion.
• Confidence cycles: Success and failure feed each other. A made kick can reinforce technique; a streak of misses can provoke mechanical tinkering that worsens results.

Examples in NFL history show dramatic swings. Some kickers recover after being cut, rebuild confidence in new environments and enjoy extended careers. Others struggle to regain pre-dip form. Evaluators attempt to measure mental resilience through interviews, reference checks and observing behavior during high-pressure drills.

Historical Comparisons: Comebacks and Cautions

Kicker careers offer a range of outcomes, from long, decorated careers to abrupt exits. Two archetypes are informative.

1. The comeback specialist: Several kickers have turned early setbacks into long-term success. These players often rebuild in practice squads, lower-stakes leagues or through steady short-term assignments. Reinforcing mechanics and restoring confidence can lead to prolonged, reliable tenures.
2. The high-profile cautionary tale: Kickers drafted early or inserted into jobs quickly occasionally fail to meet expectations and fade. Teams then move on decisively. The NFL’s short memory and the cost of experimenting with roster spots make second chances rarer for some.

The lesson for Karty is double-edged. His rookie record provides a strong comeback narrative if he can demonstrate immediate reliability. Yet his 2025 slump is also fresh, and teams will scrutinize whether the issues were mechanical, mental or contextual.

What Karty Offers: Strengths, Shortcomings and Opportunity

Karty’s profile blends appealing traits with red flags:

Strengths:

• Leg strength and range. Six of seven 50+ yard makes as a rookie points to a rare asset: a kicker who expands scoring range.
• Demonstrated early-season success. A 29-of-34 rookie season is meaningful proof of NFL capability.
• Youth and draft investment. As a recent draftee, he still carries the developmental cachet teams value.

Shortcomings:

• Inconsistent midseason performance. The 66.7% conversion through eight games in 2025 aligns with the decision to seek a change.
• Recent track record of short stints. Waived by the Rams and released by the Cardinals after a brief period, which increases evaluators' caution.

Opportunity:

• Specific situational value to teams that need range. If a franchise lacks trusted distance kicking, Karty offers a solution.
• Practice-squad or injury-replacement pathway. If he demonstrates steady performance in the Jets workout, a short-term contract or practice-squad slot becomes realistic.

The Jets’ interest stems from the combination of potential upside and low acquisition cost. From their perspective, Karty’s best path back to a consistent role involves proving he can repeatedly hit routine distances and maintain clean timing with snapper and holder.

Scenarios for Karty’s Next Step

Several plausible outcomes follow his Jets workout:

1. Immediate signing and competition with Blake Grupe. If Karty performs well and shows matchup benefits — for example, superior kickoff placement or long-range consistency — the Jets could sign him for camp or even challenge Grupe for the active role.
2. Practice-squad opportunity. A conservative path for the Jets: sign Karty to the practice squad as insurance while keeping Grupe as the primary option. That arrangement allows quick elevation in case of injury or sudden poor form.
3. Short-term injury replacement. Should the Jets suffer an injury or a dip in performance from their current kickers, Karty becomes a ready-made candidate for signing given his recent game experience.
4. No roster offer and continued auditions. If the workout raises more questions than answers, Karty may return to free agency and seek opportunities elsewhere. The NFL calendar produces periodic vacancies due to injuries and roster cuts, so continued readiness matters.

Evaluators will weigh not only raw accuracy but also situational performance and how quickly Karty can reestablish a repeatable approach.

The Broader NFL Kicking Market: Supply, Demand and Margins

Kickers occupy a unique labor market in the NFL. Supply of competent legs is limited; demand is constant. Several structural features shape the market:

• Low financial barrier to change. Kickers’ contracts are inexpensive relative to the roster, so teams can rapidly swap specialists without crippling cap consequences.
• High variance. The difference between a veteran and a journeyman can be marginal on paper but massive in game outcomes.
• Special teams coaching influence. A cohesive kicking unit — snapper, holder, kicker — improves success rates. Teams that invest in continuity often see improved results.
• Practice and in-season evaluation processes. Teams continually sample free agents and invite specialists to workouts to maintain a ready pool.

Because of these factors, movement at kicking positions can spike during preseason and after Week 1 once game conditions reveal underlying issues. A single clutch miss or a multi-game slump frequently triggers demand for free-agent specialists.

What Coaches See on Film and Why It Matters

Film study plays a central role in evaluating a kicker. Coaches do not just look at makes and misses; they search for mechanical cues:

• Plant foot placement and angle. Minor deviations can create directionality issues.
• Timing with snap and hold. Disrupted cadence increases the chance of a block or a mishit.
• Ball contact point. Where the kicker’s boot contacts the ball affects trajectory, distance and direction.
• Trajectory profile. Kickoffs with low trajectory can be more easily returned; higher arcs favor touchbacks.
• Pre-kick routine. Consistency in pre-kick behaviors correlates with in-game steadiness.

For Karty, film could reveal whether his 2025 misses were the product of technique drift, weather and stadium conditions, or a series of situational realities. Coaches will check whether he reverted to earlier, successful mechanics or whether he struggled with approach and timing.

The Role of Coaching and Training in a Kicker’s Rehabilitation

Successful rebound stories often trace back to adjustments in coaching and training. Specialists work closely with kicking coaches to refine everything from plant foot alignment to leg speed and core stability. Psychological skills coaching also plays a role: visualization, controlled breathing and pre-kick routines form a mental scaffolding for performance.

For younger kickers like Karty, returning to fundamentals may be enough. Strength and conditioning work can restore power for long-distance kicks; repetition and timing drills rebuild synchronization with snapper and holder. Strong coaching environments combine technical instruction with mental preparation to restore confidence.

Teams with veteran leadership and stable special-teams infrastructures are often better at rehabilitating struggling specialists. That factor could influence where Karty chooses to sign if multiple teams express interest.

Real-World Examples: How Other Kickers Navigated Turnarounds

Several recent kickers illustrate possible arcs:

• The resurgence path: Kickers who lose jobs, spend time on practice squads or in other leagues and then return to long-term roles often credit incremental mechanical changes and a steady routine. Those players found that short-term setbacks become manageable once they rebuild trust with an organization.
• Rapid replacement success: When a team finds a replacement who immediately performs (like Mevis in Los Angeles), the former starter may find fewer doors reopen with the same franchise. Other clubs, however, may still value the former starter’s upside.
• High-draft-to-exit cautionary tale: Kickers who enter the NFL with draft capital sometimes face disproportionate scrutiny. If initial expectations clash with mid-career instability, teams may prefer less flashy but more consistent alternatives.

Karty’s case fits the first two categories: his rookie season shows clear upside, and his short-term replacements performed well, making re-entry with the original team improbable. However, other clubs that prioritize range or seek competition will view him as a viable candidate.

How the Jets’ Special Teams Could Shift with a New Kicker

If the Jets integrate a new kicker, the impact is more than a change in the roster column. Kickers affect field position, play-calling on fourth downs and late-game strategy. A kicker who can consistently make long attempts changes how the offense approaches closer-yardage fourth downs and two-minute drills.

Practical effects to consider:

• Fourth-down aggressiveness. Confidence in long-range kicks can cause coaches to attempt longer field goals rather than go for it in certain field situations.
• Kickoff strategy. A kicker with better touchback rates forces opponents to start drives closer to their end zone.
• Game management. A dependable kicker simplifies clock and scoreboard management late in halves.

For the Jets, adding or testing a kicker like Karty represents a choice about strategic flexibility. It’s not solely about replacing a body on the roster; it’s about altering the set of options available to offensive and special-teams coordinators.

Financial and Contractual Realities for Free-Agent Kickers

Kickers operate under smaller contracts than positional players. That financial reality creates a careerscape where short-term deals, practice-squad salaries and veteran-minimum contracts dominate. For teams, signing and releasing kickers is low-cost and often reversible.

Two practical outcomes:

• Teams can afford to experiment without lasting cap damage.
• Kickers face economic instability that places a premium on rapid success.

Karty’s best financial bet is to earn a mid-season signing or a practice-squad role that can convert to active roster status when need arises. Demonstrating reliability in workouts accelerates that path.

Long-Term Outlook: Karty’s Chances and the Market Clock

Kicker careers are episodic. Some specialists enjoy decade-long runs of steady production; others oscillate between short stints and unemployment. Time matters: long layoffs and missed playing opportunities make re-entry tougher, though not impossible.

Karty’s near-term prospects hinge on:

• Communicating mechanical changes that address past misses.
• Demonstrating consistency under simulated pressure.
• Showing complementary skills such as kickoff depth and directional accuracy.

If Karty nails his Jets workout, a signing — whether immediate or on the practice squad — is plausible. If not, the calendar assures periodic opportunities for auditions elsewhere. The NFL’s attrition rate among kickers means job openings will recur; the challenge is to be prepared the next time one arises.

Looking Ahead for the Rams and the Jets

For the Rams, Mevis’s strong performances permit roster stability. That frees Los Angeles to allocate evaluation time and roster spots elsewhere. The cost of replacing an entrenched kicker is high only in terms of competitive risk, not cap space.

For the Jets, the workout signals diligence. Whether it produces a signing depends on the relative merits of Grupe, Sanders’ absence and Karty’s performance. Special-teams units across the league will continue compiling a short list of viable, low-cost options; Karty is now back on that list.

FAQ

Q: Why would the Jets work out a kicker if they already have Blake Grupe? A: Teams hold workouts for competition, contingency and potential skill differentiation. Even with Grupe’s solid numbers, teams often want to see whether a challenger can offer specific advantages in range, kickoff depth or long-term consistency.

Q: What did Karty do well as a rookie? A: Karty made 29 of 34 field-goal attempts in his rookie season and hit six of seven attempts from 50+ yards. He scored 119 points, a franchise rookie record for the Rams, and tied the team’s rookie mark for made field goals.

Q: Why did the Rams waive a kicker with that rookie production? A: Performance through eight games in 2025 declined to 10-of-15 field goals (66.7%). The team brought in Harrison Mevis, who posted high conversion rates and consistent postseason success. Coaching staffs often act on recent performance and the need for reliability.

Q: What does Mevis’s success mean for Karty’s chances of returning to the Rams? A: Mevis’s consistent regular-season and postseason performance entrenched him as the Rams’ kicker. That makes a return to Los Angeles unlikely unless Mevis suffers injury or a significant decline.

Q: What will teams evaluate during a kicker workout? A: Teams test field goals at various distances, kickoffs, pressure simulations, timing with snapper and holder, mechanical consistency and mental preparedness. Film review and interviews supplement the on-field session.

Q: Could Karty make an NFL roster again this season? A: Yes. Kickers frequently change teams for performance or injury reasons. If Karty demonstrates reliable mechanics and in-workout accuracy, he could secure a practice-squad slot or active-roster position, especially if a team seeks range or immediate competition.

Q: Does a single preseason mistake doom a kicker’s career? A: Not always. Many kickers rebound after early setbacks through adjustments and regained confidence. However, because the position is high-variance and low-cost to replace, small sample sizes can have outsized roster effects.

Q: How does the kicker market affect team strategy? A: Because kickers are inexpensive and replaceable, teams can afford to experiment. A reliable kicker expands strategic options on fourth down and in late-game scenarios; conversely, instability may cause conservative decision-making.

Q: What are the most meaningful metrics for kickers? A: Field-goal percentage by distance band, PAT conversion, kickoff touchback rates, and clutch performance in late-game situations are primary. Coaches also assess routine, technique and environmental-adjusted performance.

Q: If Karty doesn’t sign with the Jets, what are his alternatives? A: Continued workouts with other NFL teams, practice-squad opportunities, or even readying for in-season vacancies due to injury or poor performance are typical paths. Maintaining visibility and consistent practice work is critical.

Joshua Karty’s tryout with the Jets is more than a single audition. It is a microcosm of the NFL’s kicking market: volatility, opportunity and a relentless focus on reliable performance. For Karty, this workout is an opportunity to reassert the mechanics that made him a record-setting rookie. For teams, it is part of ongoing risk management: keep a pipeline of tested specialists ready, and be willing to shift when numbers and film demand it. The specialist market leaves little room for complacency; every kick matters.