Giants Lose Long Snapper Casey Kreiter in Free Agency

The New York Giants’ reigning king of the one-year contracts, long snapper Casey Kreiter, is ending his streak.

The 35-year-old Kreiter, who has been with the Giants since 2020 after four seasons (including his 2018 Pro Bowl campaign) in Denver, is signing with the Arizona Cardinals, according to the NFL Network.

Kreiter will reunite with special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial, who was not retained by new Giants head coach John Harbaugh but was hired by the Cardinals.

With the departure of Kreiter, the Giants will now have a completely different kicking battery.

That new battery will be headlined by Pro Bowl punter Jordan Stout, whose three-year, $12.3 million contract makes him the highest-paid punter in the league.

The other member will be either first-year player Ben Sauls or long-time veteran Jason Sanders at kicker, the latter having agreed to terms on a one-year deal to compete with Sauls, who finished out the Giants’ 2025 season after a disastrous carousel of kickers came through East Rutherford.

Incumbents Graham Gano (kicker) and Jamie Gillan (punter) are expected to be released from their respective contracts and will become unrestricted free agents.

Kreiter had his most productive season for the Giants in 2024, registering a career-high five tackles (three solo). He consistently delivered cool, calm, and collected long snapping in his role and showed no signs of slowing down as of last year.

Giants re-sign Nic Jones and Zaire Barnes

In other minor Giants free-agent news, New York re-signed restricted free agents Nick Jones, a cornerback who had a big role on special teams, and linebacker Zaire Barnes, who contributed both on special teams and on the defense.

Jones gives the Giants some additional depth at cornerback, which right now is paper-thin following the departure of Cor’Dale Flott to Tennessee. In his first and only season to date with the Giants, Jones recorded eight tackles, three solo, most of those coming on special teams, where he played 191 snaps.

Defensively, he played just 20 snaps for the Giants.

Barnes, who had been with the Jets prior to coming over to the Giants last season, appeared in 11 games with one start. He recorded 29 tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, and one sack in 92 defensive snaps.

Like Jones, Barnes was more of a special teams contributor, having contributed on 168 special teams snaps for the Giants.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.