Ben Sauls looked like one of the safest kicker bets on the market just a few weeks ago. Now, after the Giants waived him with an injury designation on Sunday, he’s still sitting unsigned while other teams cycle through options.
That’s the strange part. Sauls, 25, had been rock solid for New York.
He closed last season by converting all 15 of his kicks, including eight field goals and seven extra points, and then kept that momentum rolling through the preseason. Even after that, he lost the job to undrafted rookie Dominic Zvada, who won a heated offseason battle for the Giants’ kicking job.
The move ended Sauls’ run in East Rutherford on roster cut day, and it left him free to sign with another team. But no one has jumped yet, and the longer that goes on, the more the undisclosed injury hanging over him starts to look like the explanation.
That uncertainty stands out even more when you look around the league. The Jets are bringing in Jake Karty for a workout on Wednesday after releasing veteran Jason Sanders on Sunday and then re-signing him to the practice squad on Monday. New York had also claimed Blake Grupe off waivers after the Colts cut him on roster cut day, which is how Sanders got squeezed out in the first place.
Baltimore added another name to the mix on Monday, signing veteran Jake Moody to its practice squad. The Ravens already have second-year kicker Tyler Loop, who struggled through the offseason after missing a game-winning field goal try in Week 18 against the Steelers.
So while teams keep poking around at kickers, Sauls is still waiting. And given what he showed with the Giants - perfect last season, perfect in the preseason, and still beaten out by a hotter hand in Zvada - he looks like the kind of player who should already have another shot. The only thing standing in the way may be the injury no one has explained yet.
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Giants Turn To Familiar Ravens Pipeline As Linebacker Need Grows
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New York will need to clear space on its 17-player practice squad to make the addition official, but Harrison is expected to be in the mix quickly. For a defense that can always use more depth in the middle of the field, the appeal is obvious, and the Giants are leaning once again on a Ravens-connected pipeline to patch a need before it becomes a bigger problem. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Still Have One Unsettled Roster Issue Before Week 1
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Practice-squad options are already in place, but the search has not produced a confirmed trade or signing yet, leaving one roster spot on the interior line very much unsettled. For a team trying to get the defense ready for opening weekend, it is the kind of lingering issue that can still shape how the first few games look once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Have One Linebacker Decision Still Hanging Over Roster Cuts
The Giants trimmed their linebacker room as part of roster cuts, and most of the names that hit the wire have already landed somewhere else, either on active rosters or practice squads. One holdover remains in a more uncertain spot: Anfernee Orji, the late-July addition who arrived with some NFL experience from the Saints and Titans and was still working back after a torn ACL.
Orjis situation is a reminder that roster cutdowns are rarely the end of the story in late August, especially for players trying to re-establish themselves after injury. NFL rosters are still shifting, which leaves open the possibility that his next stop could come soon, but for now he is the lone Giants linebacker from that group still waiting for a new opportunity. [Read more 🡒]