Lawrence Tynes was the Giants’ placekicker from 2007-12, though an injury limited him to two games in 2008. Now, he’s breaking news for Big Blue.
Tynes reports that the Giants are bringing in kicker Graham Gano for a visit (Twitter link). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says the team is planning to sign the 33-year-old specialist, who was released by the Panthers last month (Twitter link).
New York, of course, has experienced some turmoil at the kicker position this year. Aldrick Rosas, the team’s kicker over the past three seasons — including a Pro Bowl campaign in 2018 — was cut by the Giants following a hit-and-run incident earlier this summer.
To replace Rosas, the Giants brought in Chandler Catanzaro, who appeared to be primed to claim New York’s kicking job. But assuming Gano is signed, there will be a legitimate competition between the two vets.
Gano was tremendous in his last full season in 2017, sinking 29 of his 30 field goal tries for a league-leading 96.7% conversion rate. That performance earned him the first Pro Bowl bid of his career, and it also helped him secure a four-year, $17MM deal. Unfortunately, a fractured femur suffered towards the end of the 2018 season laned Gano on IR, and he was unable to get back on the field in 2019. Before his release, though, his recovery was said to be progressing well.
Catanzaro, meanwhile, was a productive full-time kicker as recently as 2017 and does have several very productive seasons under his belt, but after a difficult preseason with the Jets last year, he announced his retirement. He came out of retirement to hook on with New Jersey’s other club, but he may be hard-pressed to beat out a healthy Gano.
He already signed with them
Good signing, we need the competition in camp to bring out the best.
Looking at catanzaro numbers it’s odd to see him not stick around with teams he seems solid
That Seattle game while he was with the Cardinals completely changed his mindset for some reason. Catanzaro got a lot of flack for that missed field goal. Guy was a good kicker, just had one of those bad misses that messed way too much with him. It happens-a productive kicker’s career can turn on a dime sometimes.
its an unforgiving position. if youre not automatic every year you can get the boot.
No pun intended, as it were.
Still have no idea why the Panthers, who are not hurting for cash, cut Gano. I suppose if we see him shanking kicks all of a sudden during the season we will know, but right now it just seems like another strange, random decision from Marty Hurney (who has had those sometimes in the past).
It is semi-ironic that Gano was signed by the team against whom he had the most important, clutch-time kick of his career. I remember the cable networks switching coverage as he lined it up. I had no personal interest in that game but I was furious.
I don’t understand it either, as it’s not as though Joey Slye was some sort of world beater by any means. There must be some sort of underlying injury issue we don’t know about.
In other news, didn’t that Gano kick occur in the same game as that McCaffrey phantom first down?
I can’t remember that one, but it very well may have been. I remember it being one of Eli’s last great games, where he came on in the fourth like it was 2010 or so. It was a pretty great game to watch.
Seems absurd that the greatest kicker in league history (Adam Vinatieri) can’t get a workout while numerous wannabees can.
Gano is hardly a wannabe
Because he’s almost 50?
I’ve never seen this reference in football:
“sinking 29 of his 30 field goal tries”
I guess they are 3 pointers …
Dontchaknow