Giants Sign Ryan Santoso from Practice Squad; Place Graham Gano on Reserve/COVID-19 List

The Giants make a roster move to protect themselves from potentially not having kicker Graham Gano if his COVID-19 symptoms should keep him out of their Nov. 29 game against the Bengals.

The Giants placed kicker Graham Gano on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and have signed K/P Ryan Santoso from their practice squad to fill the roster opening.  

Santoso, 6-foot-5, 258 pounds, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota by the Lions in 2018. 

He was waived as part of the final training camp cuts that year but signed a reserve/future contract with the Lions on January 3, 2019. 

After being cut by the Lions, he signed with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes' practice roster on September 24, 2019. They released him on October 15, 2019.

Santoso tried the NFL again, this time signing with the Titans on November 27, 2019, but he was waived on December 17, 2019. He returned to the Alouettes in February 2020 but was released from his contract after the CFL season was canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.  

The Giants signed Santoso to their practice squad on September 6 and have listed him as one of the four players they protect weekly, given Santoso's ability to punt and place-kick.  

At Minnesota, Santoso converted 76 out of 77 PATS and 29 out of 39 field-goal attempts over his four-year stint. He also punted 144 times for 6,018 yards, a 41.8 average.

In the 2018 preseason, he converted both of his field-goal tries for the Lions, one from the 20-29 yard range and one from the 40-49 yard range.

As a punter, Santoso punted 13 times for 596 yards, a 45.8 gross average. His net average was 40.8, and he placed two of his punts inside the 20 for the Lions.

As the Giants are on a bye, they don't get to protect four players on their practice squad this week, which is why they signed Santoso to fill the vacancy even though there remains a chance of Gano returning in time for the November 29 game against the Bengals.

The Giants also announced they signed tight end Nate Wieting, 6-foot-4, 245 pounds out of Iowa, to their practice squad. More of a blocking tight end, Wieting recorded 13 receptions for 185 yards (14.2 average) in college.

Wieting had signed with the Browns as an undrafted free agent this year. He was awarded off waivers to the Dolphins, who carried him through this year's training camp, but he didn't make the 53-man roster.