Sunday Night Football just started, and there’s already some drama. The New York Giants were getting ready to take on the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium and their kicker Graham Gano suffered an injury during warmups. It’s not ideal to have a kicker suffer an injury, but the Giants now have a tough task to manage in tonight’s game.
What Happened to Graham Gano?
Gano suffered an apparent groin injury and headed back to the locker room during the national anthem. It wasn’t going to be an easy task tonight for New York, but it just got even harder.
Graham Gano went back to the locker room during the national anthem. The Giants do not have another kicker on the 53-man roster. Jude McAtamney is on the practice squad.
Jamie Gillan (P) could handle kick duties, unless the Giants prefer a positional player.
Either way, not…
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) September 22, 2025
The Giants now have to scramble to find someone to kick for them as they don’t have another kicker active tonight. The likely favorite is punter Jamie Gillian, but it could be someone else, or they won’t kick at all. This is going to make for an interesting watch when the Giants get in tough 4th down situations or have to kick an extra point after a touchdown.
It’s a lucky break for the Chiefs and a brutal break for the Giants. Both teams are looking to put their first win on the board after suffering close losses last week. Gano’s injury is complicating this for the underdogs, as the Giants are facing an uphill battle already and this is making it worse.
Who Will Be The Giants’ Kicker Tonight?
If Gano is unavailable, Gillan will be the team’s kicker. However, Gunner Olszewski is the backup holder, and holding for a lefty kicker could be a tough ask for him. Lefty kickers aren’t common, and an emergency holder without practice trying to get a hold perfect for a lefty kicker is not easy.
While very unlikely, the Giants could also go with a position player to kick their extra points if holding for a lefty is too much trouble. Gillian is the favorite to handle kicking duties, but time will tell who the Giants trust to knock in their field goals and extra points, if they trust anyone. It’s only going to be a problem for this week, as they can get a kicker activated for next week.
The Giants have Jude McAtamney on their practice squad, but he wasn’t elevated for tonight’s game because Gano was healthy entering tonight. If Gano misses more time than just tonight, McAtamney will be the likely favorite to be the starting kicker while Gano recovers from his groin issues.
#UPDATE: After sitting out the entire first half, Gano returned to take the field goal in the fourth quarter and converted a 25-yard long attempt.
