Graham Gano is underway in his fourth Giants campaign. His play so far this season (3-for-5 on field goal tries) has not lived up to his previous success, but past performances led to an extension before the campaign began.
Further details on the 36-year-old’s deal are in, courtesy of The Athletic’s Dan Duggan. Gano received a $5MM signing bonus, and his base salaries this season ($1.25MM) and next ($3.1MM) are guaranteed in full. He will also see a $2MM roster bonus in 2024, which is guaranteed at signing. Gano’s cap hit fell to $4.3MM in 2023, meaning it created a bit of breathing space for this season. His cap charges will rise to $7.2MM in 2024, then $5.8MM and $5.7MM the two years after that. The team is banking on continued high-level play deep into Gano’s career given their latest investment in him.
Here are some other Giants notes:
- Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson has seen plenty of time in the slot this season, following through on the Giants’ plans of moving him inside to allow rookies Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins to log starting roles on the perimeter right away. That alignment was foreshadowed in the summer, but it was not something thought of exclusively in 2023. The Giants first considered playing Jackson as their nickel corner last year, as detailed by Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, but that plan had to be scrapped due to his knee injury. The 28-year-old’s play on the inside will go a long way in determining his free agent value in the spring, since he is playing out the final year of his contract.
- A resolution has emerged in the Logan Ryan injury grievance, which was filed last April. The veteran defensive back contested the $3MM which was guaranteed for injury in his 2022 compensation should have been paid out owing to his postseason finger surgery. He ultimately received $2.7MM of that total, Duggan notes. The Giants carried a cap charge of $1.2MM last season with the case remaining unresolved at the time; they will be on the hook for $1.5MM in 2023.
- New York hosted a group of wideouts on free agent visits recently, and return specialist Andre Roberts was among them, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The 35-year-old spent last season in Carolina, making three appearances. His limited time has no doubt hindered the three-time Pro Bowler’s ability to find a new home for what would be a 13th season played in the NFL. Fifth-round rookie Eric Gray has handled both kick and punt return duties for the Giants so far, recording 16 yards on his lone kick return and eight yards per runback on punts.
- In addition to Roberts, the Giants brought in James Proche for an audition, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The former sixth-rounder was among the Ravens’ final roster cuts after spending his first three seasons with the team. Proche found himself as the odd man out of Baltimore’s new-look receiving corps, leaving him in search of a new opportunity. He has also worked out for the Jets, but as is the case with his Giants visit, that endeavor has yet to produce a contract offer.
Gano only really ”missed” one field goal. The other was blocked, which could be partly his fault, but it certainly could not be.
Three for five isn’t terrible. If, at the end of the year, Gano is, say, eleven for fifteen, that’s still a good year at face value. We’ll just have to see how it plays out for him. Regardless, New York has categorically gotten a better deal than Carolina did years ago when they triumphantly dumped Gano for Joey Slye-who is still a middling kicker to this day.
As far as Jackson goes…I mean, I get the size/athleticism argument, but it doesn’t seem that the boundary corners are working out. McKinney appears to be asked to do a lot on the backend to compensate. Perhaps that’s just my impression, but he seems overextended, as well.