New York Giants Training Camp Player Preview: K Graham Gano

Are the prime years of Graham Gano's career past him and can the Giants trust him to be a reliable kicker in 2025?

Dec 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano (9) kicks a field goal against the New Orleans Saints during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

For most of his very abundant 16-year NFL career, the name Graham Gano has often been synonymous with two very important words in football—that is, “clutch” and “reliable.” 

In his first three seasons with the New York Giants, the veteran kicker had been the absolute epitome of those adjectives. 

However, as can be the case with aging players in the sport (Gano turned 38 years old on April 9), it appears that Father Time has been slowly catching up with Gano. After nailing just over 91% of his field goals in that aforementioned span, he has dealt with nagging lower body injuries that have cut a piece out of his once undoubted effectiveness. 

In 2023, Gano appeared in just eight contests, his lowest number of games since the 2012 season when he was with the Carolina Panthers, after suffering a knee injury that also dropped his field goal efficiency down to a career-low 64.7%. 

Gano was still pretty sharp from short range, but his stats when it came to longer boots started to take a dip, and it was obvious the injury was affecting what had been a classic trait of his game. He was once the guy who nailed deep shots with ease, including a couple of infamous ones against the Giants over the years.

Still, the 2024 season would also bring its own set of challenges, including injuries, as Gano suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 while attempting to chase down an opening kickoff return for a touchdown against Washington. He would miss seven games and force the Giants to have to count on numerous kickers throughout the season. 

Fixing all the different woes with the special teams department has been a large focus for the Giants and special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial, and it’s hard to say that place kicking has been free from concern with an aging Gano. 

The upcoming summer will be a pivotal one for the Giants to determine if Gano has one more bounce-back effort left in him before considering other options for the future. 

The team has enjoyed quite a reliable player during most of his time in East Rutherford, especially when they were desperate to put points on the scoreboard amidst a struggling offense. 

That said, it’s a position that must be paid attention to in camp because the Giants cannot afford to have another shaky kicking operation cost them in close games this season. It’s happened too many times, and there is a lot on the line with every possible win in 2025.

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Graham Gano, K

• Height: 6-2
• Weight: 202 lbs
• Exp: 16 Years
• School: Florida State
• How Acquired: FA-’20

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2024 in Review

Despite having another injury-riddled year, Gano’s performance still managed to be much better in 2024 than the highly disappointing campaign he had two seasons ago. That is obviously because he missed less time than in 2023, but he found ways to overcome his previous knee issue and return closer to his full form. 

Gano attempted fewer field goals than he did the year before, but he went 9-for-11 on those kicks for an 81.8% success rate.  

As usual, extra point tries were never an issue for Gano, going 15-for-15 for his third year in the last four without a point after a touchdown miss. 

Gano scored 42 points throughout the whole season, which was a steep decline from the 119 he was responsible for in the Giants 2022 season.  

His longest field goal was a 53-yarder in the season finale against Philadelphia, but he also had a few from 42, 47, and 43 against Carolina, Dallas, and New Orleans. 

Contract/Cap Info

Gano is entering the third season of a three-year contract extension that he signed with the Giants back on September 8, 2023. The new agreement was worth a total of $16.5 million with a $7.674 million signing bonus, making him the fifth-highest-paid kicker in the NFL at the time of signing. 

As part of the contract, Gano was given $11.335 million in guaranteed money. His 2025 base salary is $4.415 million, and his cap hit for the 2025 season is set at $5.65 million, which is the 16th highest cap charge on the Giants’ roster this season. 

If Gano were to be cut before the start of the regular season, New York would save $4.415 million and have a dead-money hit of $1.25 million this year and $1.25 million next year. 

2025 Preview

After having another long offseason to rehab his hamstring injury and work his lower body back up to sufficient form, it’s unlikely the Giants will roll into training camp without Gano being the top option. 

His health and efficiency will be closely monitored in case anything changes before the regular season begins. Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial has already heaped some praise on his kicker during team OTAs, opining that Gano is showing flashes of his old self in the practice sessions. 

The Giants are going to need that version of Gano to return in the 2025 campaign to ensure that they can at least rest easy in the kicking game. There are still things left to be seen from the offensive side of the ball, and a sharp Gano will assist that side of the game from being a complete disaster.

Outside of Gano, the Giants have Jude McAtamney, who has been part of the organization through the NFL’s International Pathway Program. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets any looks this summer, especially when it’s not a guarantee that his elder teammate will make it through the entire season without any resurfacing ailments.

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