Dealing with another injury situation at the kicker position, the Giants have again turned to a veteran. Mason Crosby has joined New York’s practice squad in advance of playing this week, as first reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The team has since announced the move.
Randy Bullock – himself brought in as an injury replacement for Graham Gano – was placed on injured reserve Thursday. Bullock’s injury paved the way for a third full-time kicker seeing game time for the Giants this season, which appeared to put Cade York in position to join the active roster. The latter suffered an injury of his own during practice this week, though, and York has been placed on practice squad IR.
Once again in need of a healthy option, the Giants will look to Crosby to close out the season. The 39-year-old joined the Rams midseason amidst their struggles in the kicking game, but he did not see any game action. Crosby was released from Los Angeles’ taxi squad last week, leaving him free to join any interested team.
A new opportunity has arisen via New York’s continued bad luck in terms of kicking injuries. Crosby has not played since his Packers tenure came to an end last season. 2022 marked the 16th season Crosby spent in Green Bay, but the team elected to draft his replacement (Anders Carlson) this spring. The former Super Bowl winner made it clear he intended to keep playing in 2023, however. He will now have the chance to do so.
The 5-8 Giants will play the Eagles on Christmas Day while attempting to keep their playoff chances alive. Crosby will likely have the opportunity to finish out the season with the Giants and look to build off his 86.2% field goal success rate in 2022 (which marked a noticeable rebound from his 73.5% mark the previous year). Since punter Jamie Gillan made one field goal after Bullock’s injury, Crosby will be New York’s fourth kicker this year.
York was let go by the Browns following his struggles in training camp and the preseason. The 2022 fourth-rounder initially joined the Titans, but his move to the Giants seemed to set him up well for an opportunity in the wake of Gano being lost for the year. His young career has now hit another roadblock, as the Giants prepare to move forward with Crosby for the time being.
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