Giants' kicker battle still not decided as team releases veteran Graham Gano

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The New York Giants have taken a big step in determining who their kicker will be for the 2026 season.

The Giants signed Jason Sanders in free agency and it was considered nothing more than a formality that he would be given the job as soon as the team released Graham Gano. That news became official on Sunday, according to Connor Hughes of SNYtv.

Gano leaves after six seasons in New York and finishes sixth on the team's all-time scoring list with 456 points. Gano's inability to be on the field last season eventually cost him his job. After getting off to a strong kicking start last year, a groin injury suffered during pre-game warmups in Week 3 led to him missing time and he landed on injured reserve later in the year with a neck injury.

This forced the team to use three different kickers for the remainder of the season. The team decided that it wanted to move forward with a different veteran, which led to the signing of Sanders.

Jason Sanders still has to win the job

The Giants still have Ben Sauls on the roster, so there will still be a kicking battle. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Sauls knock off Sanders this summer.

Sanders has spent his entire eight-year career with the Miami Dolphins, though he missed all of last season with a hip injury. Still, the Giants were more confident in his health going forward than Gano's and that was the reason for the switch.

Sanders has made 84.6 percent of his career field goal attempts with a career-long of 57 yards. He may not have the biggest leg at this stage in his career, but he has been quite accurate. He ranks third on the Dolphins' all-time scoring list.

But how much rust will he have after missing all of last season? Sauls was called upon after the Giants quickly moved on from Jude McAtanmeny and Younghoe Koo. He went 8-for-8 on field goal attempts and didn't miss an extra point.

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Sanders has the veteran experience, but Sauls finished the 2025 season on a high note. You'd have to give the edge to Sanders, but it should be a wide-open competition.