WSU Alums: K Andrew Furney Signs with New York Jets

Former Washington State kicker Andrew Furney continues his NFL tryout tour, after having signed with the New York Jets on Thursday.

As awesome as the opportunity is for Furney, unfortunately, it looks like another situation in which there’s already a solid kicker in place. Nick Folk smoked the ball last year, drilling 33 of 36 field goals and punching through a perfect 27 of 27 on PAT’s. You never know I guess and the Jets might try to save a little money in their kicker position?

Furney’s first stint in the NFL this offseason came in Seattle where he would have had to beat out the most reliable kicker in the NFL and a guy who has recently signed a 3 year, $9.15 million contract to earn a spot with the Seahawks. With Folk set to make $65,000 more than Steven Haushchka this season and a recent financial investment in Wes Welker and Michael Vick, the only way Furney makes the team as a starter is if they are looking to part with the contract obligations that they just created by signing Folk.

In order to pull the trigger, Furney would have to be flawless in practice leading up to the regular season. He fits the bill as a ‘clutch’ kicker, having won a few games for the Cougs in college. But in Folk, Gang Green has a guy who has recently become one of the most clutch players in the league at his position.

Bottom line, the 29 year-old Folk isn’t going anywhere. However the signing of Furney wasn’t made to replace the veteran kicker in the Big Apple. More than likely it was made to give Folk some rest going into the season, or perhaps, if Andrew is really lucky they could be considering a two-kicker system where Furney handles the kickoffs. He put a high amount of kickoffs into the end zone last season.