NY Giants kicker Graham Gano lost his sense of taste, smell and suffered what he called an “aggressive” fever among other symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19
NY Giants kicker Graham Gano’s perfect four-for-four field goal performance in Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals is even more impressive after he revealed the severe symptoms he battled after testing positive for COVID-19.
Unlike many NFL players who have tested positive but been asyomtomatic, Gano was not as lucky.
“I had the fever, body aches, a headache,” Gano revealed following Sunday’s game. “The fever got pretty aggressive.”
Gano was activated by the Giants on Saturday afternoon from the COVID-19 reserve list, following testing negative and the NFL’s protocols. He was still feeling some lingering effects during Sunday’s game.
“I don’t think there was a time I was worried,” Gano said. “Today, I was a bit fatigued. I mean, there were things here and there that I had to kind of work through, but at the end of the day, they trust me to go out on the field and kick the ball, so I was able to do that.”
Shortly after being added to the COVID-19 reserve list in the days following the Giants’ Week 10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Gano said that he lost his sense of taste and smell, but joked that he was fortunate to get it back in time for Thanksgiving.
To stay sharp, Gano practiced kicking field goals into a net at his hotel room while quarantined.
“I was in there and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to kick before today with the team,” Gano explained. “So, I just wanted to make sure I was getting some reps in somehow.”
Gano has now made 24 consecutive field goals, extending the second-longest streak in franchise history.
Fellow Giants teammates, Kaden Smith and rookie offensive tackle Matt Peart have not yet been activated from the COVID-19/reserve list.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.