Dominic Zvada surging ahead in New York Giants' kicker battle

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Dominic Zvada surging ahead in New York Giants' kicker battle

New York Giants vs. Miami Dolphins: Best photos from preseason Week 2 — Aug 22, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; New York Giants kicker Dominic Zvada (34) celebrates with tight end Chris Manhertz (85) after scoring a field goal against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
(Sam Navarro, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

John Fennelly, Giants Wire · Giants Wire

Tue, Aug 25, 2026 ·

2 min read

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The battle for the kicker job rages on at the New York Giants training camp this week between Ben Sauls and rookie Dominic Zvada.

The competition is a welcome change from last season, when the Giants couldn't even find a kicker from week to week. The winner likely won't be announced until the last possible moment. Final roster cuts are due August 30.

The Giants have one more preseason game this Friday night against the New York Jets to settle things, but the scrutiny has intensified during practices, with Zvada pulling ahead on Monday.

From Andrew Crane of The New York Post :

In the ongoing kicking competition, count Monday as another win for Dominic Zvada.

The rookie, who spent his final two years at Michigan, made all five of his kicks, while Ben Sauls went 3-for-5.

The consistency of Zvada this preseason has been a welcome change for the Giants, given their struggles at kicker the last two seasons, and for their fans, who've been scarred by the untimely injuries of Graham Gano and the embarrassing Younghoe Koo gaffe in which he missed the ball altogether.

While Big Blue still need to name a winner of the competition, Zvada — who, like Sauls, made both kicks in the preseason win Saturday — has certainly continued to make his case at this stage of training camp.

Special teams are being taken more seriously under new head coach John Harbaugh and his staff. They have a new punter and holder in Pro Bowler Jordan Stout and a new long snapper in rookie Ben Mann.

Sauls was with the Giants at the end of last year, making all eight field goal attempts and going 7-for-7 on PATs. Zvada, who had a great college career at Michigan, was brought in to challenge Sauls in camp and has been very impressive.

There has been talk that the Giants could attempt to trade one of them before the cutdown deadline, but it's doubtful there's a team willing to trade a pick or a player for an unproven kicker.