Giants expected to sign kicker Graham Gano after releasing Chandler Catanzaro
Graham Gano, then with the Panthers, follows through on his game-winning field goal to beat the Giants in 2015. Now he's a member of Big Blue. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Graham Gano hasn’t even stepped foot on the practice field for the Giants but the veteran kicker has already won the job. For now, anyway.
Gano is going through the COVID-19 protocols and awaiting a physical before he is expected to sign with the Giants later this week, a move the team obviously felt confident enough in to release veteran Chandler Catanzaro on Monday morning. Catanzaro had come out of retirement to sign with the Giants two weeks ago.
“I think he made the right decision coming out of retirement,” Joe Judge said of Catanzaro. “He’s definitely an NFL kicker.”
Just not the Giants’ kicker any longer.
Gano, 33, was released by the Panthers earlier this preseason. He has a history with general manager Dave Gettleman and special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, which made him a candidate for the Giants long before he visited the team on Sunday. He spent last season on injured reserve but is a career 82.1-percent kicker on field goals including a career-long 63-yarder game-winner in 2018 to beat … the Giants.
The Giants are in need of a kicker after releasing Aldrick Rosas before the start of training camp. Rosas was charged with several misdemeanors from an automobile accident in California earlier this summer.
Notes & quotes: Rookie CB Darnay Holmes made a diving interception in the end zone late in practice. Those who have watched previous practices say the fourth-round pick has been a standout since the team reported late last month. “We’ve seen consistent improvement from him,” Judge said. “I don’t think Darnay is backing off from any challenge” … CB Grant Haley worked on the side with trainers during the practice. Judge said he was doing “extra conditioning.” The Giants are not required to release an injury report until later this month … The Giants signed second-year DT Daylon Mack.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
