Giants Cut Jason Sanders, Zach Triner in Special Teams Revamp

The Giants will be leaning more toward youth for the special teams kicking battery.

Place kicker Jason Sanders has been cut by the Giants. | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

The New York Giants, who are looking at a completely revamped kicking battery, are apparently leaning more toward youth.

Such is the case right now after New York released veteran long snapper Zach Triner on Monday and then dropped veteran kicker Jason Sanders on Tuesday to make room for the signing of receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

The removal of Triner, a seven-year NFL veteran who has been with the Jets, Packers, Bucs, Dolphins Broncos, Seahawks, Falcons and Commanders, won a Super Bowl (LV) as a member of the Bucs in 2020, leaves undrafted free agent Ben Mann, the grandson of one-time Giants running back Chuck Mercein, and Bryan Hudson as the two candidates for the long snapping job, with Mann believed to be the favorite.

Meanwhile, the kicking competition took an interesting turn with the removal of Sanders, the veteran kicker who had spent seven years with the Miami Dolphins.

Sanders, who missed the 2025 season with a hip injury, signed with the Giants earlier this year to a 1-year $1.425 million contract with $300,000 guaranteed, and will count for $900,000 in cap savings.

That means the Giants’ kicking competition is currently between first-year player Ben Sauls, a left-footed kicker, and undrafted rookie free agent Dominic Zvada out of Michigan.

Sauls, who finished last season as the Giants kicker, converted all seven of his field goal attempts and all eight extra points in three games played. The former University of Pittsburgh kicker converted 52 of 64 field goals for the Panthers and 122 of 124 XPAs over five college seasons.    

Zvada, who played two seasons at Arkansas State and two at Michigan, converted 71 of 72 XPTs and 72 of 87 field goals. His 95.5% field goal conversion percentage in 2024 led the Big Ten Conference.

Sanders, who was a first-team All-Pro in 2020, was deemed healthy by the Giants to compete, but he had some kicking issues in the two OTAs that were open to the media.

He badly missed two long-distance field goals in the team’s third OTA and then missed a pair in OTA No. 6 last Friday.

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