Graham Gano

New York Giants Already Move On From Chandler Catanzaro

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New York Giants, Chandler Catanzaro

The Chandler Catanzaro era didn’t last long for the New York Giants special teams group. The Giants were left in an awkward position this offseason by Aldrick Rosas’ sudden legal troubles, and it looked like Catanzaro was a possible replacement, but at the end of the day the Giants found someone else.

According to Adam Schefter, the team has moved on from Catanzaro already. The Giants originally picked him up at the beginning of the month, once it was clear that relying on Aldrick Rosas is a bad idea going forward. Rosas was released by the Giants only a few days before they picked up Catanzaro. However, the new addition just wasn’t destined to make it as the actual replacement for the former starter.

The Giants chose to release Catanzaro in favor of Graham Gano, who is currently a free agent. Interestingly enough, Gano isn’t actually on the roster yet. He was last signed to Carolina, the same team the Giants got GM Dave Gettleman from.

Gettleman was GM of the Panthers during some of the time Gano was there. It’s possibly why Gano is the preferred choice right now. Likely, the Giants only gave Catanzaro a chance because he’s already familiar from playing with the Jets for two stints.

As for Gano, his 90.9% field goal percentage from his last season in the league back in 2018 is an improvement over the 70% Rosas had in his slump season during 2019. He’s still a 33 year old that hasn’t been in the league for a bit, so it’s not a perfect signing. But the Giants aren’t making an obvious mistake with this one.

With the kicker question mostly solved, there probably won’t be too much more news about this subject this offseason.

New York Giants Expected To Sign Kicker Graham Gano

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New York Giants, Graham Gano

The New York Giants‘ special teams unit is receiving an overhaul in 2020. Long-time long snapper Zak Deoisse has retired after an NFL career that saw him win two Super Bowls in Big Blue. Along with his departure, the Giants cut their kicker Aldrick Rosas after he found himself caught up in serious legal issues.

Overseeing all of this overturn in the unit is the Giants’ new head coach, Joe Judge. Judge is a former special teams coordinator with the Patriots and he emphasizes the importance of a good special teams unit. Today, the Giants made another roster move for the unit, this time an addition.

After cutting Aldrick Rosas, the Giants signed kicker Chandler Catanzaro. Now New York is expected to sign another kicker- Graham Gano. According to Art Stapleton, Graham Gano is expected to sign with the Giants and join the kicking competition with Chandler Catanzaro once he passes entry testing protocols.

Graham Gano Stats And Highlights

Giants fans may remember Graham Gano from the brutal Week 5 loss against the Panthers in 2018. Gano was the Panthers’ kicker at the time. The Giants lost that game 31-33 after Graham Gano made a 63-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. That field goal was one of the longest in NFL history.

That was a few years ago, though, and Gano has not made many kicks since then. Gano did not play a game in 2019 as he was placed on injured reserve with a fractured femur before the season started. Gano also missed the last four games of the 2018 season dealing with an injury.

Prior to his injury in 2018, Gano was having a great season. He made 14 of his 16 field-goal attempts and 30 of 33 extra-point attempts. Gano has been in the NFL since 2009 and has had a long career filled with success. His career-average field goal percentage is 82.1% and his extra-point percentage is 95.3%. In 2017, Gano led the NFL with a 96.7% field goal percentage, hitting 29 of 30 attempts.

Graham Gano is expected to compete with Chandler Catanzaro in training camp. But if Gano is fully healthy and returns to form, the job should be his.