MAJOR-NEWS: Is This the End for Graham Gano? Giants Veteran Kicker Faces Uncertain Future After Injury-Plagued Seasons

If the New York Giants learned anything during the 2024 season, it’s that special teams—particularly the kicking game—are vital to a team’s success. Unfortunately, injuries hit that area hard, especially impacting one of the league’s more reliable veteran kickers.

When the Giants signed Graham Gano in 2020, he was somewhat of a gamble. He had missed all of 2019 after seven seasons with the Carolina Panthers, where fans remembered him for nailing a 63-yard game-winner against the Giants in 2018. In Carolina, Gano had a reputation for being both accurate (85% field goal success) and clutch. Despite concerns about age and inactivity, he proved even more consistent once he arrived in East Rutherford.

Over his first three seasons with New York, Gano missed just 8 of 97 field goal attempts—good for a 91.7% success rate. That consistency earned him a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension ahead of the 2023 season, and at the time, it looked like money well spent. But injuries starting in 2023 began to raise concerns.

Gano’s Future Now in Question as 2025 Approaches

A knee injury severely affected Gano’s accuracy in 2023, dropping his success rate from 90% in 2022 to just 64% as he converted only 11 of 17 attempts. He underwent knee surgery and missed the season’s final nine games. In 2024, his return was again interrupted—this time by a hamstring injury in Week 2, sidelining him for seven weeks.

Despite these setbacks, Gano still finished 2024 with an 81.8% field goal rate and a long of 53 yards. However, the lingering injury concerns have left some questioning whether the Giants can continue to rely on the 38-year-old veteran.

Graham Gano

Although Gano has two years remaining on his deal, there were whispers he could become a cap casualty in the 2025 offseason. The team also has second-year kicker Jude McAtamney, who briefly filled in during Gano’s absence. Still, the Giants have opted to keep Gano on the roster for now, leaving many wondering what version of him they’ll get in training camp.

Stephen Lebitsch of Sports Illustrated remains optimistic, believing Gano can return to form and regain his status as one of the league’s top kickers—similar to his first three years in New York. With inconsistent midseason replacements and a veteran trying to prove he’s still got it, the kicking position remains a key uncertainty heading into camp.

Like Adam Vinatieri—who kicked effectively into his mid-40s—Gano believes he still has the leg to deliver. And given his career track record, a comeback season isn’t out of the question. If Gano can regain his old form, the Giants would gladly take two more years of steady kicking from one of their most dependable veterans.