Following their 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, the New York Giants benched Russell Wilson in favor of first-round rookie Jaxson Dart heading into Week 4. However, that may not be the only change the squad needs to make in the coming week.
During their game against the Chiefs, the Giants found themselves in a difficult situation since kicker Graham Gano was battling with a hip issue, forcing punter Jamie Gillan to take a field goal attempt at one point. While Gano did finally kick a short field goal later in the game, New York added former Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo to their practice squad in case Gano is unable to play on Sunday.
Gano has been in the NFL since 2009, having played for the Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers, and Giants. Gano has been the Giants’ kicker since 2020, and while he’s been reliable when fit, he’s had his fair share of injury issues, missing substantial time in both 2023 and 2024.
That led New York to Koo, a former Pro Bowl kicker who was replaced by John Parker Romo after missed a possible game-tying field goal in the Falcons’ season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Koo was formerly one of the league’s most consistent kickers, but he underperformed in 2024 and was let go early in the following season.
Gano’s Week 4 status is currently unknown, thus the team decided to invite Koo to town as a backup plan. While he was merely signed to the practice squad, the Giants can move Koo to the active roster for their next game if they know Gano would be unable to participate due to the aforementioned hip issue.
“In other Giants news: The team is signing former Falcons K Younghoe Koo to their practice squad, per me and Mike Garafolo,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network wrote in a post on X. “Graham Gano was kicking in pain on Sunday night after suffering a hip injury.” Now, Koo, join the practice squad.”
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While New York shredded the Dallas Cowboys’ defense in Week 2, they have looked terrible in defeats to the Washington Commanders and the Chiefs. That caused the organization to install Dart into the starting lineup, with the goal that he will lead the offense to greater success than Wilson had during his brief stint as starter.
The problem is that the Giants have another challenging game in Week 4 against the unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers when they return to play. Dart must perform at the high level he demonstrated throughout the preseason, or the Giants may face another long game.
Kickoff comes at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, and New York will do everything in its ability to avoid dropping its fourth consecutive game.