For all the good vibes floating around the Jets these days, the team’s latest decision could backfire.
Unrestricted free agent kicker Jay Feely agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals, leaving the erratic Nick Folk as the Jets’ only kicking option for now. The news was first reported Friday morning on nj.com, The Star-Ledger’s web site. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
"I am truly sad to leave the Jets organization," Feely said on his Twitter account Friday afternoon. "The relationship I had with the fans was awesome. Thanks for all the support.... My Jets teammates and coaches will be truly missed. There are a lot of great guys on that team and that atmosphere is phenomenal."
He later added: "Feeling I got from the Cardinals organization is that it is filled with the same kind of people and atmosphere as the Jets."
Feely, a reliable piece to the special teams’ puzzle that helped Rex Ryan & Co. reach the AFC Championship game last season, opted for Arizona after reaching a contractual stalemate with the Jets.
Prior to the free agency period, the Jets offered the 33-year-old Feely slightly less than the $1.5 million he made last year, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on behalf of either side.
Feely, who made 84 percent of his regular-season field goal attempts during his two seasons with the Jets, drew interest from six teams before he landed with the Cardinals. The versatile Feely, who became the Jets’ emergency punter during their wild-card win over the Bengals last year, visited with Arizona last month after Rex Ryan’s club signed Folk on Feb. 23.
“Since the Jets weren’t willing to move up from where they were (before the start of the free agency period), we had no choice but to go out on the free agent market and see what else he could get before making a decision,” Feely’s agent Glenn Schwartzman told The Star-Ledger. “It wasn’t an offer we could accept pre-free agency.”
Feely, who signed with the sixth team in his 10-year career, set a franchise record with 24 consecutive field goals en route connecting on 30 of 36 attempts last season.
Feely will be reunited with former Jets punter Ben Graham and safety Kerry Rhodes, who was traded to Arizona last month. Rhodes responded to the news of Feely's impending arriving with a message on his Twitter account asking Cardinals' fans to "welcome my homey @jayfeely to the squad just like u did me. he's a super dude!!"
The Jets, of course, are now free to sign an unrestricted free agent to fill the salary void left by Feely's departure under the league’s “Final Eight” rules. However, their financial decision to let Feely go appears risky for a team that played six games (including the playoffs) decided by five or fewer points.
With the mercurial Folk, who crashed and burned before getting released by the Cowboys last year, as the only kicker on the Jets roster, unrestricted free agent Neil Rackers, who spent the past seven seasons in Arizona, could be a viable option. The former Pro Bowler made 16 of 17 field goals last season and could offer the stability in the kicking game that Feely provided last year.
The 33-year-old Rackers nailed 83 percent of his regular-season field goals during his seven-year tenure with the Cardinals, including 31 in a row in 2005. The Jets, a legitimate Super Bowl contender, would be taking a calculated gamble leaning on Folk, who was 18 of 28 (64.3 percent) with the Cowboys last year. He also missed field goals in each of his last six games before the Cowboys cut him loose.
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Manish Mehta may be reached at mmehta@starledger.com.