Graham Gano Defends Brian Daboll’s Handling of Kicker Situation

Gano insists he was good to kick last week against the Commanders and that the hamstring injury was unexpected and unrelated to his groin issue.

Oct 29, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano (9) reacts after missing a field goal during the fourth quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

New York Giants kicker Graham Gano sought to set the record straight regarding head coach Brian Daboll’s decision not to have a backup kicker on hand during last week’s game against the Washington Commanders a day after Gano showed up on the injury report with a groin issue.

“The hamstring was just unfortunate--nobody knew that was coming,” Gano said, adding he didn’t think the criticism of Daboll for not having a backup kicker on the roster was fair. 

“The groin thing--I was able to kick fully with it. There was no real difference between me hitting balls with it and being fully healthy. I was able to back it up to 60 yards and be very accurate.”

Gano, who, during pregame warmups, left the field to get his groin wrapped, confirmed that his hamstring injury was to the same leg as the one that had the groin issue. Still, he declined to get into specifics about the severity of the groin issue other than to note that he didn’t have an injury designation going into the game.  

“Yeah, it's the same leg but a completely different injury,” he said. “I know a lot of people making a big deal of the groin injury. I was fully capable of playing the game with that, so I had a great week. I mean, I was kicking with it the other day before the game, and I made almost all of my kicks. So going into the game, it was a non-issue, really.”

Gano, who said he wasn’t aware of the flag being thrown that nullified Commanders kickoff returner Austin Ekeler’s 98-yard touchdown return, believes the hamstring injury happened because he suddenly had to go into sprinter mode.

Currently on IR, Gano plans to hang around the facility and do whatever he can to help the team. He’s already begun that process by getting together with new kicker Greg Joseph to fill him in on the winds of MetLife Stadium during different times of the year.

“I've known Greg for a long time. He's been playing the league, I think. What about six or seven years? He's a seasoned vet--played against him a whole bunch of times. After the game, after he saw the news, he texted me-- I think that was before he knew he was coming here. 

“The kicker fraternity's kind of like that--everybody keeps in touch with each other, but I'm excited for him for the opportunity, and I'm an open book as far as helping anybody out as much as I can.”

As for his own recovery, Gano didn’t want to put any promises as to when he would be ready, noting that with him on IR, he’ll have at least a month to get himself right, but adding that hamstrings can take time to properly heal.

“We're just taking it day by day, trying to get healthy,” he said. “I'm fortunate enough to have, in my opinion, the best medical staff in the NFL. They've done a fantastic job. All the injuries I've had, they've been topnotch, top class.” 

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