NFL Giants kicker Graham Gano having surgery, landing on injured reserve; Randy Bullock added to practice squad
Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll lost one of their best weapons for the rest of the season on Thursday.
Kicker Graham Gano is having surgery on his left knee and will land on injured reserve, a source confirmed.
The team signed free agent kicker Randy Bullock after a workout to kick for them beginning Sunday on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Free agents Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby and Matthew Wright also worked out for the Giants on Thursday.
Gano missed two field goals in last Sunday’s 13-10 overtime loss to the Jets, including a 35-yarder with 28 seconds left that would have put the Giants up six points late.
Daboll knew Gano’s leg would eventually require surgery when he decided not to go for that 4th and 1, which makes the decision to kick even more curious.
“I put this one fully on my shoulders,” Gano said after the defeat. “It’s a terrible game by me. That’s not the reason I’m missing kicks. It’s a nightmare game. I’m not gonna stand here and make excuses.”
Oddly, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said at noon Thursday before practice that Gano was “working some things right now and hopefully it can get ironed out and keep rolling.”
McGaughey also said Gano is “better than most even when he’s at 80-85 percent, 70 percent. So again, we are just going to work through it. If it’s something that we’ve got to address later, we’ll address it later, but right now he’s just working through it.”
Three hours later, four kickers were on the field trying out to replace Gano.
Bullock, 33, won the job and returned for his second stint with the team. He also kicked for the Giants briefly in 2016.
Most recently, Giants fans would know him from missing a 47-yard field goal at the buzzer for the Tennessee Titans in last season’s Week 1 Giants win in Nashville, Tenn.
