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With Graham Gano Finally Gone, 2 Unproven Giants aim to Shore up Woeful Kicking Game
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- With Graham Gano Finally Gone, 2 Unproven Giants aim to Shore up Woeful Kicking Game
New York Giants fans finally got their wish of Graham Gano 's release.
But the bad news about Gano's departure is it left two relative unknowns competing for what has been an extremely unsettled position the past three years.
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Ben Sauls and Dominic Zvada are in competition for one spot as training camp gets set to open later this month in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Each surprisingly outlasted veteran Jason Sanders , who the Giants signed to a one-year contract in March, then abruptly released after OTAs. Sanders didn't have to travel far, since he landed across MetLife Stadium after signing with the Jets .
Ben Sauls Kicked for the Giants in 2025
Gano had a knack for getting injured at the worst possible time. The veteran found himself on injured reserve four times in the past three seasons.
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His injury on the opening kickoff cost the Giants their Week 2 road game against the Washington Commanders in 2024. The Giants then went 1 for 4 on fourth downs, and Gano's replacement Jamie Gillan had a second-quarter extra point blocked in their winnable 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 last year, after Gano was injured in warmups .
The Giants never recovered from their 0-3 start, and their kicking game couldn't rebound from Gano's injury. They had the worst extra-point percentage in the league in 2025 (87.8), and Jude McAtamney and Younghoe Koo seemed to one-up each other for most embarrassing moments.
Yet, Sauls shored things up in his brief-but-meaningful kicking tenure. He stepped in for the Giants' final three games and made all 15 kicks he attempted in game action.
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Undrafted Dominic Zvada is the Favorite to win Giants' Kicker Role
Sauls is the incumbent, but Zvada is the favorite, particularly since Sauls went 4 for 10 in OTAs on kicks from 33 to 47 yards.
Zvada is coming off an uneven senior season at the University of Michigan, but was arguably college football 's best kicker in 2024.
He missed only two kicks that year, though one was an extra point, and broke the school record for 50-plus-yard kicks in a single season (7). Zvada won Big Ten Kicker of the Year and was a first-team All-American .
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Giants fans have watched rivals' kicking become a weapon, especially Brandon Aubrey with the Dallas Cowboys . First-year head coach John Harbaugh employed arguably the best kicker ever in Justin Tucker , so you know the former special-teams coach values the kicking game.
So whoever ends up kicking for the Giants this year will certainly be better than Gano and the other randoms who have tried, and failed, the past three years.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jul 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
