Andrew Beck declares himself Jets ‘emergency specialist’ with more potential kicking duties to come

Detailed summary

Andrew Beck had already proven his versatility this season, but he took it to another level last week in Kansas City.

Andrew Beck had already proven his versatility this season, but he took it to another level last week in Kansas City.

Beck, who has played fullback and tight end for the Jets this season, handled the team’s kickoffs in the loss to the Chiefs last week. Beck, who is in his eighth season, was a surprise on special teams for the Jets.

“It was something I talked about with [special teams coach Chris] Banjo,” Beck said. “We talked about it a while ago, kind of joking around. Then, last week we talked about it a little bit more.”

The Jets had given up a kickoff return for a touchdown against the Raiders in their prior game, and Banjo saw a way to get an extra tackler on the field with Beck kicking off.

“Any time you have an opportunity to get an extra tackler on the field with a play like this, I think it’s a benefit,” Banjo said. “So, yes, we’ve definitely been working on it for a while. Always look for different ways, a way to get 1 percent better, continue to close the gap that we continue to talk about and stress.

“So, whenever we feel like and identify an area where it can help, we’re definitely going to try to maximize it.”

Beck had only messed around kicking in high school and in some of his previous stops. He had never actually kicked in a game before. He also is the Jets’ emergency long snapper.

He said that he practiced doing it again this week, but he’s not sure if the coaches will have him kick off this week against the Bills. Punter Austin McNamara and kicker Jason Sanders have kicked off in the Jets’ earlier games this season.

Beck kicked off five times and only had one mistake, kicking the ball out of bounds to open the second half and giving the Chiefs the ball at their 40. They scored a touchdown after that.

Opening of the article, excerpted from New York Post. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.