New York Giants beat reporter and SNY insider Connor Hughes relayed news of a veteran release on the evening of March 29, at the tail end of NFL free agency ahead of the draft.
“BREAKING: The Giants are releasing K Graham Gano, sources tell @SNYtv,” Hughes reported on X. Officially closing the door on Gano’s up-and-down tenure with the G-Men.
Gano signed two extensions with the Giants. The second was a three-year, $16.5 million contract that was agreed to in 2023.
According to Over the Cap, New York will save $4.5 million in cap space by cutting ties with the soon-to-be 39-year-old kicker. They will take on a dead cap hit of $1.25 million.
Giants Already Replaced Graham Gano in NFL Free Agency
Gano’s release was always expected, even before the Giants signed veteran kicker Jason Sanders in NFL free agency.
It’s easy to forget that Big Blue also took a flyer on 24-year-old kicker Ben Sauls toward the tail end of the 2025 season, giving them three kickers before the Gano move. A two-man kicker competition is one thing, but a three-man competition would be very uncommon.
With that in mind, it was time to finally cut free of Gano, especially since his release clears a helpful amount of cap space.
Gano’s time with the Giants started solidly, but his performance declined along with his health and his age. It was somewhat shocking that Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll stuck with Gano heading into last year. John Harbaugh making the same mistake felt unlikely.
Gano only appeared in 5 games in 2025, 10 games in 2024, and 8 games in 2023. The savvy vet managed to hit 90% of his field goals last season and 81.8% the year prior.
The 2023 campaign was rock bottom, as Gano only hit 64.7% of his field goal attempts.
Although Gano improved on the field over the past two years, his health didn’t. Gano’s 5 games played in 2025 were his lowest total since 2009, his first season as an NFL kicker.
The Giants couldn’t move forward with a kicker who has such an unreliable track record of availability.
Giants Nation Reacts to Graham Gano News
Members of the Giants community reacted to the Gano news. One of the first was ESPN beat reporter Jordan Raanan.
“This was a formality at this point releasing Graham Gano after an injury-plagued season,” Raanan commented. “The Giants signed Jason Sanders earlier this offseason. Also have Ben Sauls on roster.”
The Athletic’s beat reporter Dan Duggan also noted that Gano’s release was “just a matter of time.”
Finally, “Giants Nation” podcast host Bobby Skinner responded: “Not Graham Gano’s fault that the Giants decided to roster him in 2025 but Gano was lights out for the Giants in his 1st 3 seasons. Was only added when Aldrick Rosas was arrested.”
As Raanan said, Gano’s release was much more of a formality than a surprise. The “what’s next” is the interesting part.
The Giants just freed up another $4.5 million in cap space. That gives them approximately $7.59 million in available cap space going forward, according to Over the Cap’s reported total before the move, plus Gano’s cap relief number upon release.
Big Blue surely has more moves to come, both before and after the NFL draft.
Giants Cut Ties With $16.5 Million Starter in Cap-Saving Move: Report