The kicking woes continued for the New York Giants on December 22 as Cade York aggravated an injury unexpectedly less than 24 hours after interim starter Randy Bullock was placed on the injured reserve.
Bullock, of course, was already serving as the 2023 replacement for Graham Gano — who is done for the season as well. And now York will join them.
“Another kicker change for the Giants,” NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo shared on X. “They’re signing veteran Mason Crosby to their practice squad, sources say. He’ll kick for them on Christmas Day against the [Philadelphia] Eagles.”
Garafolo added that “Cade York is headed to practice-squad IR after aggravating a leg injury in practice this week.”
Another kicker change for the #Giants: They’re signing veteran Mason Crosby to their practice squad, sources say. He’ll kick for them on Christmas Day against the #Eagles. Cade York is headed to practice-squad IR after aggravating a leg injury in practice this week.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 22, 2023
Mason Crosby Set to Close Out Season as New York Giants’ Starting Kicker
Crosby (age 39) is one of the oldest athletes in the NFL. The long-time Green Bay Packers kicker entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick in 2007, holding the job at Lambeau for 16 straight seasons.
The Packers finally replaced Crosby with rookie Anders Carlson after his numbers began to dip a bit in 2021 and 2022.
His last great season was in 2020, making all 20 of his field goal attempts (including playoffs) despite four missed extra points. Since then, the veteran has been a tad less reliable with a 73.5% field goal percentage in 2021 and an 86.2% make rate in 2022.
Crosby has not been called on to kick this year, although he did sign with the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad on December 6. A week or so later, LAR cut Crosby loose after electing to stick with Lucas Havrisik the rest of the way.
If you count York (never played) and punter Jamie Gillan (called upon to drill a 40-yard attempt in New Orleans), Crosby will be the Giants’ fifth place kicker this season. If he can make it three weeks with the active roster, the job will likely be his to close out the year.
Giants Work Out 3 Punters & 1 Long Snapper
To make matters worse on special teams, Big Blue appears to be prepping for a potential punter and/or long snapper absence. Gillan is now dealing with a groin injury after his impressive kicking efforts the week before, which led to three work outs at his position on December 21.
KPRC2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson reported the news, stating: “Giants worked out Cameron Lyons, Pat O’Donnell, Michael Palardy and Corliss Waitman.”
Lyons is the long snapper, while the other three are all punters.
O’Donnell has the longest track record in the league of the trio. He was last with the Packers but spent most of his career with the Chicago Bears. The veteran is 32 years old and holds a career net average per punt of 39.2. He has an “inside the 20” percentage of 36.4%.
Palardy (age 31) entered the NFL a couple of years after O’Donnell in 2016. He spent four seasons with the Carolina Panthers through 2019, and one each with both Miami and New England after that. His career net average per punt is a 39.7, while his “inside the 20” percentage is 35.3%.
Finally, Waitman is a 28-year-old native of Belgium. He’s only punted for two NFL teams during the regular season — the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos. Waitman has a net average per punt of 41.5 and an “inside the 20” percentage of 30.1%.
It’s quite possible that the New York Giants will field both a new kicker and punter in Week 16 against the Eagles.
