Giants Not Done Adding Kickers? Future HOFer Headlines Potential Signings

Giants' Top-5 replacements for Aldrick Rosas
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Stephen Gostkowski (L) & Adam Vinatieri (R)

The New York Giants decided on Sunday that they will be releasing former Pro Bowler and 2nd-team All-Pro selection Aldrick Rosas, who was recently charged with three misdemeanors stemming from an alleged hit-and-run incident back in June.

Stripping the roster of Rosas not only rid the team of an (at times) productive player, but it also left the team kicker-less ahead of training camp. That quickly changed, as the team added ex-Jets kicker Chandler Catanzaro just hours later. However, Catanzaro missed the entirety of 2019 and was retired as recently as last week, making him far from a guarantee to nail down Big Blue’s kicking gig.

With head coach Joe Judge engulfing himself in special teams for much of the past decade, expect the team to aggressively zero-in on numerous potential replacements for Rosas in the next couple of days.

And don’t be surprised if more than a few ex-Patriots receive a call.

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Top-5 Kickers to Replace Aldrick Rosas

5) Cody Parkey

Parkey will likely always be entrenched as the “Double Doink” artist who cut the Chicago Bears’ 2018 postseason dreams short.

However, looking past his most glaring career blunder, Parkay has actually been quite solid over his six-year pro career, holding an 84.3 career field goal percentage and even notching a Pro Bowl berth in 2014.

In fact, his 150-points scored that season ranked second in the NFL, only trailing the player ranked No. 1 on this list.

4) Adam Vinatieri 

A shoo-in HOFer and the NFL’s all-time leader in points scored, Vinatieri is no longer the Mr. Automatic that we grew accustomed to during his Foxborough days, and his struggles in 2019 highlight that.

With that said, after early-season woes, Vinatieri showed hints of his old self, not missing a field goal in three of his final four games prior to being placed on season ending-IR.

The kicker’s tenure with the Colts appears all but done, as he recently put his Indianapolis home up for sale. Judge may not have any actual coaching ties to Vinatieri, but chances are if he was good enough to help his former boss, Bill Belichick, nab three-Lombardi Trophies, he’s good enough to replace the league’s 31st-most accurate kicker in football from last season.

3) Ryan Succop 

The No. 2 ranked kicker on the open market entering free-agency, per Walter Football, Succop remains unsigned as we near August. Succop’s injured knee greatly hampered his production in 2019, in return stripping him of any market this offseason.

Yet, while he may have just hit on one of his six field-goal attempts last season, Succop had been riding a five-year streak of recording a field goal percentage of at least 83.3% prior to his injury.

2) Nick Folk 

Folk hasn’t made a Pro Bowl since way back in 2007. In fact, at this time last year, he was kicking for the Arizona Hotshots of the now-deceased AAF.

However, he did manage to land on his feet, joining Judge in New England as a mid-season addition for the Patriots last year. Folk played seven games with the Pats in 2019, knocking down 14 of his 17 field goal attempts.

1) Stephen Gostkowski

The most obvious name on the list, Gostkowski has been mentioned as a logical addition to the Giants roster from the moment Rosas’ off-field troubles arose.

Gostkowski, the only player to score more points than Vinatieri in a Patriots uniform, also has the most history with Big Blue’s head coach.

Judge spent the past eight-seasons working alongside the 4x-Pro Bowler as either a special teams assistant or coordinator.

Most importantly, Gostkowski would be a massive upgrade over Rosas. While the soon-to-be former Giant has only hit on more than 72% of his field goals once in his three-year career, Gostkowski is the NFL’s 5th-most accurate kicker in league history, hitting on 87.4% of his career field-goal attempts.

While the Patriots have seemingly moved on from the franchise-great, the kicker is clearly eyeing a return to the gridiron in what would be year 15 for the wily veteran. “I’m gonna try to play. I feel good,” Gostkowski told NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran back in early April.

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Giants Not Done Adding Kickers? Future HOFer Headlines Potential Signings

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