Brad Wing – © USA TODAY Sports
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NEW YORK GIANTS CUT PUNTER BRAD WING…
The New York Giants have terminated the contract of punter Brad Wing, who had signed a three-year, $6.45 million extension in July 2016. Wing had two years left on his contract with base salaries of $1.35 million in 2018 and $1.45 million in 2019. He would have counted $2.025 million against the 2018 salary cap. By cutting him the Giants “saved” about $1.025 million in cap space with $1 million in dead money.
After a strong 2016 campaign punter Wing struggled in 2017, with poor performances being a factor in a few defeats. Wing saw his gross punting average fall from 46.2 to 44.1 and his net punting average drop from 40.9 to 36.7, which was the worst in football. His number of punts inside the 20 also fell from 28 to 19. Wing had two punts blocked. It was a precipitous drop for a player who had been named “NFC Special Teams Player of the Week” twice in 2016.
An Australian, the left-footed Wing was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles after the 2013 NFL Draft. He did not make the team but he made the Pittsburgh Steelers roster in 2014. The Giants acquired Wing from the Steelers by trade for a conditional 7th-round draft pick in September 2015. Until 2017, Wing combined a strong leg with good directional placement skills. He also was the Giants holder for both field goals and place kicks.
The Giants signed punter Austin Rehkow to a reserve/futures contract in January 2018. Rehkow was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft. The Bills waived him in August. He punted twice in the preseason, averaging 44.5 yards per punt.
REPORTS – DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE STAYING AT CORNERBACK…
ESPN and The New York Post are both reporting that their sources say the earlier NFL Network report about the New York Giants moving cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (DRC) to safety is not true. Apparently no such decision has been made.
Meanwhile, The NFL Network is now reporting that the Giants have asked DRC to “take a signficant pay cut” from the $6.48 million in base salary he is currently due to make in 2018 (his overall 2018 cap number is $8.5 million). Supposedly no agreement has been reached and both sides are “far apart.”
GRAHAM GANO RE-SIGNS WITH PANTHERS…
The Carolina Panthers re-signed place kicker Graham Gano on March 6 to a reported 4-year, $17 million deal. There had been media reports that the Giants were expected to pursue Gano if he hit the open market on March 12th. The 30-year old Gano made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career last season after he converted on 29-of-30 field goal attempts (96.7 percent).
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