The list of Giants kickers has shrunk from three to two. The team announced on Tuesday that veteran Jason Sanders has been released.
New York’s efforts to find a Graham Gano replacement have included a number of moves. One was the signing of Sanders in March. The former Dolphin missed all of 2025, something which hindered his market value. Sanders collected $300K guaranteed from the Giants on his one-year deal, so that amount will now represent a dead cap charge.
As a result of today’s move, the Giants’ kicking competition will consist of Ben Sauls and Dominic Zvada. Sauls made three appearances as part of New York’s rotation at the position last year, connecting on each of his eight field goal attempts and all seven of his extra point tries. Zvada signed with the Giants this spring as an undrafted free agent, and he and Sauls represent an inexperienced duo vying for the full-time gig. New York has similarly opted for youth at the long snapper position with Ben Mann the only current option on the roster following Zach Triner‘s Monday release.
Sanders enjoyed a strong seven-year run in Miami. The former seventh-rounder reached or surpassed a 90% success rate on field goals three times during his Dolphins tenure. Overall, Sanders has converted 84.6% of his field goals and all but nine of his 268 extra point attempts over the course of his career. It will be interesting to see if the 30-year-old manages to line up a new gig in time for training camp or if he remains unsigned well into the summer.
Today’s release represents the corresponding move to make JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s signing official. The veteran wideout was one of three additions at that position which were lined up yesterday in the wake of a successful workout. Smith-Schuster will spend the summer competing for a roster spot, while Sanders will now attempt to find a new home elsewhere in the NFL.