If and when the 2011 NFL season begins, New York Jets placekicker Nick Folk will have competition for his job. The Jets have signed UFL Special Teams Player of the Year Nick Novak to a reserve/future contract to compete with the veteran Folk.
Folk went 30 of 39 in field goals for the Jets in 2010, but as Gang Green Nation reminds us Jets fans are split on whether or not Folk is the right guy.
Novak has had four stops in the NFL, two with the Washington Redskins and one each with the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. He has made 19-of-30 career field goals (63.3 percent). In the UFL in 2010 he made 15 of 18 kicks, including a 54-yarder.
The Jets also signed linebacker Brandon Long (Michigan State) and linebacker Garrett McIntyre (Fresno State) to reserve/future contracts. Long was waived prior to the 2010 season by San Francisco after signing there as an undrafted free agent. McIntyre played for the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the past two seasons.