Graham Gano, who already missed four games and most of a fifth this season with a groin injury, appears on the verge of being unavailable to be the placekicker for the New York Giants on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
Gano on Thursday missed a second consecutive day of practice with a neck injury. Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Gano has a herniated disc in his neck.
If Gano cannot kick on Sunday, the Giants would turn to veteran Younghoe Koo, who has spent most of the season on the team’s practice squad.
Head coach Brian Daboll said Gano reported the neck issue on Monday.
When Gano, 38, was injured in the Week 3 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Giants signed Koo to their practice squad.
They chose second-year placekicker Jude McAtamney, who had one game of NFL experience in 2024, over Koo as Gano’s replacement while the 38-year-old was on injured reserve.
McAtamney missed three extra points in the final two games before Gano returned to action two games ago against the Philadelphia Eagles. McAtamney is back on the Giants practice Koo.
In eight NFL seasons, including six full years with the Atlanta Falcons, the 31-year-old Koo has made 85.8% of his field goal attempts and 96.2% of his extra points.
