The Giants’ kicking competition ended the way most of these things do: with one leg standing and one guy heading out the door. On Sunday, New York waived Ben Sauls, closing the book on a brief but memorable run for the 25-year-old southpaw.
Sauls had been in a real fight for the job all summer, but undrafted rookie Dominic Zvada ultimately took control of the competition. Head coach John Harbaugh made that clear Friday night, when he said Zvada had won the battle. That left Sauls with little room to stick around.
Still, Sauls made plenty of noise while he was there. Signed late last season after New York’s kicking situation had already gone off the rails, he stepped into a mess and did the one thing the Giants desperately needed: he made everything.
In three games, Sauls went 8-for-8 on field goals and 7-for-7 on extra points, with a season-long 45-yarder in the season finale against Dallas. He also became the NFL’s first left-footed placekicker since Sebastian Janikowski, which helped turn him into a cult favorite almost immediately.
That momentum carried into the offseason, where Sauls refused to make the decision easy. He and Zvada were trading big kicks throughout the summer, and Sauls even connected from 63 yards while going 67-for-87 on attempts during training camp, a 77% clip.
He looked good enough to win the job. Zvada just looked better.
The preseason gave Sauls another chance to force the issue. He hit all three of his field-goal tries from 27, 37, and 46 yards, and also made his lone extra-point attempt.
But Zvada answered with a perfect preseason finale against the Jets, going 5-for-5 and drilling kicks from 23, 46, and 53 yards. That was the final word.
Even with Sauls out, Harbs left the door open for him elsewhere in the league. Afterward, he said Sauls “also won a job," a clear sign the Giants believed he should be kicking somewhere in the NFL this season. It’s tough to argue with that.
Sauls departs New York without missing a field goal or extra point in an actual NFL game, regular season or preseason. The only thing that beat him was a bigger leg on the other side of the competition.
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