When free agency began last week, Steve Weatherford had plenty of interest in remaining in New York — just not with the Jets.
The veteran punter, who signed with the Giants Friday, said they were his No. 1 choice when he hit the market, even ahead of jobs where he’d have been guaranteed a job.
“Going into free agency, I knew this was the place I wanted to play,” Weatherford said. “I enjoyed my time with Rex Ryan, but it was time for me to move on, and just talking with my representation, this was a perfect fit for me.”
Weatherford is coming off an impressive year with the Jets, including leading the NFL with 42 punts inside the 20-yard-line, and finished with a career-high 38.1 yards per punt. But the 28-year-old said he had no interest in returning to the Jets after serving as the team’s punter each of the last two years.
“It wasn’t something I wanted to do, so we didn’t reach out to them,” he said. “Nothing against them — I enjoyed my time there — but, for me, I felt like it was kind of time to move on.”
Weatherford’s arrival with the Giants looks to be a bad omen for incumbent Matt Dodge. After being drafted in the seventh round out of East Carolina last year to replace the retiring Jeff Feagles, Dodge had an up-and-down rookie season.
That included landing himself a permanent place in Giants history for his infamous punt to DeSean Jackson that was returned for a touchdown with no time remaining in the Giants’ 38-31 Week 15 loss at home against the Eagles.
“It’d be ignorant for me to think I’d be the only one here again, especially with so many up-and-down performances and a lot of media attention to the punter,” Dodge said. “When I saw who it was, I said, ‘That’s awesome,’ because he’s a great punter, too. So it’s going to be fun to compete.”
Dodge’s inconsistency a year ago left many fans wishing the ever-reliable Feagles had decided to stick around for a 23rd season. But while Feagles won’t be returning to the field, Weatherford said he has tried to model his game after Feagles, who spent the final seven years of his career with the Giants.
“I really like the coaching staff here,” Weatherford said. “I felt like it was a good fit . . . I can do well what they like.
“Obviously Jeff Feagles is a Hall of Famer here. I think I’ve watched enough film of Jeff to make any of you guys [throw up], but I’m definitely prepared for the challenge.”
Weatherford had a gaffe of his own last year, when he decided to try a fake punt from his own 20-yard-line on 4th-and-18 in the first quarter of the Jets’ 9-0 loss to the Packers at home in Week 9. He came up about a yard-and-a-half short after failing to realize quarterback Mark Sanchez had been sacked for a nine-yard loss on third down.
But after having the ability to make calls like that under Rex Ryan, Weatherford wasn’t anticipating having the same freedom playing for Tom Coughlin.
“I think the mindset of Rex Ryan and coach Tom Coughlin are, maybe, a little different,” Weatherford said, laughing. “I would guess there’s probably not going to be much of a green light for me.”
When he was asked about Weatherford having the leeway to attempt fake punts with the Jets, and whether he might do the same for the Giants, Coughlin, who is famously against such practices, left little room for interpretation.
“Leeway, that’s the word . . . He won’t have that here,” Coughlin said with a large smile. “That word was not included [in negotiations], I think it’s safe to say . . . There was language in the contract, but that wasn’t one of the words in it.”