The New York Giants are getting a major boost to their special teams this week as they have officially opened up the practice window for veteran kicker Graham Gano.
Giants designate Graham Gano to return to practice
The Giants have been without Gano since he suffered an injury on the opening kickoff of their Week 2 loss versus the Washington Commanders. Following the game, he was placed on injured reserve and has been sidelined ever since, missing a grand total of seven games this season.
Gano was playing well prior to his injury, connecting on 100% of his field goal attempts in the first game of the season (2-for-2). This was a vast improvement from his performance in 2023 as Gano struggled while playing injured, converting only 64.7% of his field goal attempts in eight games played (11-for-17).
With Gano sidelined, the Giants turned to veteran kicker Greg Joseph from Week 3 to Week 8 before he also suffered an injury that would keep him out of the lineup in Week 9. Jude McAtamney kicked for the Giants last week, making his lone field goal attempt from 31 yards out.
Gano is now designated to return to practice and will ramp up as he attempts to make his way off of injured reserve. Getting Gano back in the lineup will bring some much-needed reliability to the Giants’ special teams unit as Gano has kicked with a career 83.8% field goal success rate. However, injuries have been a problem for Gano in recent seasons, so staying healthy will be a top priority.
