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Ben Sauls

Giants K Graham Gano Returns To IR

November 12th, 2025 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

It was an inauspicious start to the season in New York when kicker Graham Gano was placed on injured reserve after only the third game of the season. After only appearing in 18 of a possible 34 games in the past two seasons, the Giants needed Gano healthy as they entered his sixth year with the team. Gano was able to return a couple weeks ago after missing the minimum four games but has promptly been returned to IR, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Gano, 38, has been with the Giants since 2020, earning two separate three-year extensions for a combined $30.5MM. It was a knee injury that sidelined Gano for nine games in 2023, while a groin issue held him out of seven contests last year. In addition to the injuries, Gano struggled with his accuracy whenever he was available. Gano missed six of 17 field goal attempts in 2023, with two misses coming from inside the 30-yard line. While he improved a bit in 2024, going nine for 11, one of those misses was also from inside 40 yards.

It was, once again, a groin injury that landed Gano on IR near the start of this year. The injury occurred during pregame warmups, and Gano tried to make a go of it later in the game after punter Jamie Gillan saw his sole extra point attempt blocked, but ultimately, an IR placement was needed. This time, it was reportedly neck soreness — later determined to be a herniated disk (per Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports) — that threatened Gano’s playing time and ultimately led to his second IR stint this season.

After Gano’s first injury, the team signed veteran kicker Younghoe Koo to their practice squad, joining him with existing taxi squad kicker Jude McAtamney. New York opted to go with McAtamney in those four weeks without Gano, but after watching him miss three extra point attempts in two games and only sending him out to attempt field goals shorter than 32 yards, the Giants switched it up with Koo last week. Koo made both of his point after tries and both of his field goal attempts in the Windy City.

Already rostering Koo and McAtamney on the taxi squad and Gano on IR, the team added a bit more insurance yesterday by making Ben Sauls the third kicker on their 17-man practice squad. Sauls has made the rounds since signing as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers after kicking in the same stadium in college at Pitt. After failing to make the initial 53-man roster, Sauls signed with Koo’s former Falcons on a practice squad deal before getting released last Tuesday.

We identified Gano as a potential cap casualty in the offseason, and at this point, shuffling three kicking replacements on their practice squad, the Giants likely regret not acting on that possible cost-cutting move. Utilizing the potential out built into his contract, which expires in 2027, New York could have reclaimed $3.17MM of cap savings by cutting Gano early in the offseason with only $2.5MM of dead money to burn. If they had made him a post-June 1 release, they may have gotten $4.42MM in cap savings with only $1.25MM of dead money.

Instead, his contract remains on the ledger, and the Giants are paying three practice squad contracts as they search for an effective, consistent injury replacement for the third season in a row. The current situation has set Gano up to be a cut candidate once again in the near future.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/11/25

November 11th, 2025 at 7:35pm CST by Connor Byrne

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers 

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Released: LS Peter Bowden

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

The Panthers waived White from their practice squad on Nov. 8, but the team quickly brought the veteran signal-caller back. White will continue to provide experienced depth behind Bryce Young and Andy Dalton. He served as the Panthers’ emergency third QB in their Week 9 win over the Packers.

Giants’ Graham Gano Battling Neck Injury; Younghoe Koo Likely To Kick Sunday

November 7th, 2025 at 2:00pm CST by Connor Byrne

NOVEMBER 7: Gano is not taking part in Friday’s practice. To little surprise, then, Daboll said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan) he “assumes” it will be Koo handling kicking duties in Week 10.

NOVEMBER 6: Injuries have been a frequent problem for Giants kicker Graham Gano since he signed a three-year, $16.5MM contract extension in 2023. After combining for 18 of a possible 34 appearances from 2023-24, Gano has already missed four of the Giants’ nine games this year. He could sit out again when the Giants face the Bears on Sunday.

Gano, now battling neck soreness, spent time on IR earlier this season with a groin injury. The 38-year-old missed a field goal in a 34-24 loss to the 49ers last Sunday, his second game since coming off IR, but has connected on his other nine attempts this season. Gano is is also a perfect 9 for 9 on extra points.

While Gano has put together a more-than-respectable career since debuting with Washington in 2009, the former Pro Bowler admitted Thursday that injuries and outside criticism have taken their toll (via Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports).

“It’s unbelievably frustrating,” Gano said. “I can’t control the injuries that have happened. It’s not like I’ve done something that is out of the ordinary outside of the building to hurt myself or anything. I just want to play ball, and constantly not being able to is tough. Doing everything I can to try to come back and play, and that’s my hope.”

If Gano is unable to suit up in Week 10, the Giants are preparing to use practice squad kicker Younghoe Koo, head coach Brian Daboll said (via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). Also a former Pro Bowler, Koo had a long run with the Falcons, who released him after a costly missed field goal in a 23-20 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 1. The 31-year-old caught on with New York’s practice squad on Sept. 23.

Although Koo has been with the Giants for about a month and a half, he hasn’t kicked in a game with them yet. The Giants instead turned to Jude McAtamney during Gano’s four-game absence. McAtamney converted his only two field-goal attempts while filling in for Gano, but he missed three of his 12 extra-point tries. Two of those misses came in a 33-32 loss to the Broncos in Week 7. The Giants cut and re-signed McAtamney to their practice squad after their Denver disaster, and the Northern Ireland native is now behind Koo in the pecking order.

Despite having Koo and McAtamney around as fallback options, the Giants worked out free agent kicker Ben Sauls on Thursday, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic. As Duggan notes, the undrafted rookie from Pittsburgh signed with Atlanta’s practice squad after the team moved on from Koo. The Falcons cut Sauls on Tuesday.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/4/25

November 4th, 2025 at 7:37pm CST by Ely Allen

With lots of roster movement surrounding the trade deadline, practice squads needed rearranging, as well. Here are today’s practice squad updates:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

The Texans are bringing Wright on as an emergency option as regular kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn works through an injury. Wright has plenty of experience in this role as this will be his fourth team this year alone.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/23/25

September 23rd, 2025 at 10:20pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

As teams enter Week 4, here are the latest practice squad transactions from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Falcons’ kicking rollercoaster took another turn in Week 3 with John Parker Romo missing both of his attempts in Sunday’s loss to the Panthers. Granted, those kicks came from 49 and 55 yards, so Atlanta may have some patience after signing Romo to a two-year contract last week. The Falcons still brought in some potential competition in Sauls, an undrafted rookie who spent training camp with the Steelers and made five of his six field goals in the preseason.

Wright is expected to be out for four to six weeks due to a foot injury, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

Watson signed with the Buccaneers after the draft but remained on the non-football injury list as he worked to get his weight to a more manageable level. He was waived during final roster cuts, but the team hosted him for a workout last week, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman. Watson met the team’s athletic requirements to earn his way back on the practice squad, according to Auman, and will return just in time for the Bucs’ Week 4 matchup with the Eagles. The massive nose tackle does feel like a direct counter to the tush push, but Bowles previously said (via Auman) that Watson wouldn’t be re-signed just for one matchup and would instead need to be ready to contribute to the defense as a whole.

Falcons To Explore K Options

September 9th, 2025 at 1:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

SEPTEMBER 9: The Falcons have indeed added another kicker by signing John Parker Romo to the practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Romo emerged as the best option out of a tryout group that also included Zane Gonzalez, Michael Badgley, and Ben Sauls, per Pelissero.

SEPTEMBER 8: In the wake of their Week 1 loss, the Browns expressed confidence in kicker Andre Szmyt and indicated no competition would be brought in. The opposite is true in the case of the Falcons.

Atlanta will look into alternative options at the position, head coach Raheem Morris said on Monday. Younghoe Koo narrowly made one of his kicks yesterday, with a deflection off one of the uprights resulting in a successful attempt. At the end of the contest, though, a 44-yard field goal which would have tied the game was missed.

“We have to bring a competitive edge,” Morris said (via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall). “We have to go out there and look. We have to bring in people to compete. It definitely creates that sense of urgency. It’s about the process you have to go through from a physical and mental standpoint.”

Morris added (via Kendall) Koo is the incumbent for the time being but said the team will explore veteran as well as “up and coming” options. With over $8MM in cap space, finances will not be an issue if an addition is to be made. For now, attention will turn to the free agents who choose to visit the Falcons, with Eddy Pineiro, Zane Gonzalez, and Greg Joseph among the most notable names on the market.

Koo enjoyed a strong run with the Falcons beginning in 2019. The 31-year-old South Korean earned a Pro Bowl nod the following year and remained among the league’s most consistent kickers until 2024. Last year, Koo missed nine of his 34 field goal attempts, resulting in a career-low accuracy rate of 73.5%.

A training camp competition took place involving Lenny Krieg, was was waived during roster cuts but retained via a practice squad agreement. Morris said the German-born Krieg, who first signed with Atlanta in March, is considered a developmental player but added he will receive another opportunity to earn the kicking gig. Koo has two years remaining on his contract and is owed a total of $8.5MM over that span.

A parting of ways between he and the Falcons has been speculated about dating back to last season’s struggles, but that has not been the case so far. It will nevertheless be interesting to see how the coming days play out with Atlanta searching out alternatives.

Steelers Cut P Cameron Johnston, 12 Others

August 25th, 2025 at 6:10pm CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers started moving on from some players late last week, and they continued the process this afternoon. The team announced the following transactions:

Released:

Waived:

Cameron Johnston inked a three-year deal with the Steelers last offseason and was expected to lead the depth chart for the foreseeable future. However, the veteran suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that knocked him out for the rest of the season, allowing Corliss Waitman to secure the punting gig. It appears that Waitman won the competition between the two this preseason, and Johnston will now look to revive his career elsewhere. The team also moved on from kicker Ben Sauls, who always seemed destined to be cut considering Chris Boswell is still kicking around.

Among the team’s other notable cuts are Max Hurleman, who caught a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener and was a standout during training camp, and linebackerMark Robinson, who was believed to be competing for a spot on the Steelers defense.

Steelers Announce 7 UDFA Signings

April 27th, 2025 at 12:43pm CST by Ely Allen

After drafting seven rookies this weekend, the Steelers double their rookie class with their undrafted free agent signings. Here are the seven additions to the team’s rookie class:

A two-year starter for the Tigers, Taylor had a productive last two seasons, catching 135 balls for 2,053 yards and six touchdowns, but he had a bit of an issue with nine drops over that period.

Williams spent six seasons in Duluth, not making an appearance until his third year after redshirting and sitting out the COVID-19 2020 season. In 2022, he took over the starting left tackle position for the Bulldogs, starting 32 games over the next three seasons and earning second-team All-NSIC honors in 2022 and 2023 and first-team honors in 2024.

Castro had some Day 3 buzz, likely due to a stellar 2023 campaign in which he had 11 passes defensed, three interceptions, and eight tackles for loss. His 2024 season was pretty disappointing, though, as his passes defensed dropped to two and his interceptions dropped to one while he allowed five touchdowns in coverage.

Lastly, Sauls gets to stay in his home stadium, after going 52-64 on field goal attempts in the last three years with the Panthers. The left-footed kicker had a long this season of 58 yards. With Chris Boswell under contract for another two years, though, and having just led the NFL with 41 converted field goals (only missing three attempts — as many as he had in 2023, as well), Sauls will likely spend the preseason auditioning for other teams who may need a kicker in 2024.