Jets adding Younghoe Koo to their kicker competition, AP source says

The New York Jets are signing kicker Younghoe Koo to compete at the position, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press.

Koo will join Cade York and Lenny Krieg as kickers on the Jets’ roster. Nick Folk, New York’s kicker last season, signed with Atlanta as a free agent in March.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the team didn’t announce the signing. SNY first reported that Koo would be joining the Jets.

The 31-year-old native of South Korea who went to high school in New Jersey kicked in five games last season for the Giants after one with Atlanta, where he played since 2019. Koo began his NFL career with the Chargers in 2017 after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern.

Koo made headlines last December in Week 13 when his foot missed the ball on a field-goal attempt for the Giants during a “Monday Night Football” game, a 33-15 loss to New England. Koo later said he saw the ball moving as he approached and aborted the kicking attempt.

In an odd twist, Mark Toothaker — a stallion season manager at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky — told the AP in April that the botched kick might have saved his life. He said he was watching the game and laughed so hard, he had a seizure. His wife Malory, a nurse, called 911, paramedics arrived and took Toothaker to a hospital — where a CT scan revealed a tennis-ball-sized tumor on the left side of his brain. The tumor was surgically removed and turned out to be benign.

Koo, who was selected to the Pro Bowl during the 2020 season, has made 185 of his 217 career field-goal attempts and 186 of 194 extra-point tries.

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AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl