NOVEMBER 7: Gano is not taking part in Friday’s practice. To little surprise, then, Daboll said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) he “assumes” it will be Koo handling kicking duties in Week 10.
NOVEMBER 6: Injuries have been a frequent problem for Giants kicker Graham Gano since he signed a three-year, $16.5MM contract extension in 2023. After combining for 18 of a possible 34 appearances from 2023-24, Gano has already missed four of the Giants’ nine games this year. He could sit out again when the Giants face the Bears on Sunday.
Gano, now battling neck soreness, spent time on IR earlier this season with a groin injury. The 38-year-old missed a field goal in a 34-24 loss to the 49ers last Sunday, his second game since coming off IR, but has connected on his other nine attempts this season. Gano is is also a perfect 9 for 9 on extra points.
While Gano has put together a more-than-respectable career since debuting with Washington in 2009, the former Pro Bowler admitted Thursday that injuries and outside criticism have taken their toll (via Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports).
“It’s unbelievably frustrating,” Gano said. “I can’t control the injuries that have happened. It’s not like I’ve done something that is out of the ordinary outside of the building to hurt myself or anything. I just want to play ball, and constantly not being able to is tough. Doing everything I can to try to come back and play, and that’s my hope.”
If Gano is unable to suit up in Week 10, the Giants are preparing to use practice squad kicker Younghoe Koo, head coach Brian Daboll said (via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). Also a former Pro Bowler, Koo had a long run with the Falcons, who released him after a costly missed field goal in a 23-20 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 1. The 31-year-old caught on with New York’s practice squad on Sept. 23.
Although Koo has been with the Giants for about a month and a half, he hasn’t kicked in a game with them yet. The Giants instead turned to Jude McAtamney during Gano’s four-game absence. McAtamney converted his only two field-goal attempts while filling in for Gano, but he missed three of his 12 extra-point tries. Two of those misses came in a 33-32 loss to the Broncos in Week 7. The Giants cut and re-signed McAtamney to their practice squad after their Denver disaster, and the Northern Ireland native is now behind Koo in the pecking order.
Despite having Koo and McAtamney around as fallback options, the Giants worked out free agent kicker Ben Sauls on Thursday, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic. As Duggan notes, the undrafted rookie from Pittsburgh signed with Atlanta’s practice squad after the team moved on from Koo. The Falcons cut Sauls on Tuesday.