Just when you thought the New York Giants' kicking unit was finally settled under new head coach John Harbaugh, the summer heat has thrown a Dominic Zvada-sized wrench into those plans.
It started with the decision to cut veteran Jason Sanders at OTAs. Sanders was the only battle-tested guy among the three and left New York with two relatively unproven guys. His release signaled a shift toward a full-blown youth movement, setting up a high-stakes offseason battle between 2025 undrafted free agent Ben Sauls and incoming 2026 rookie UDFA Dominic Zvada.
While the hope was for a cutthroat kicking competition, day one of mandatory minicamp told a different story. Sauls, who took on late-season kicking duties for Big Blue last year, came into the offseason looking to keep the job. Instead, the guy who made all 15 of his kicks last year (eight field goals and seven extra points) all but squandered his chance.
According to practice reports, Zvada finished the day going a perfect 8-of-8 on his field-goal attempts. Sauls, meanwhile, sputtered to a disappointing 5-of-9 finish, continuing his rough offseason.
The Giants need to bring in actual kicking competition for Dominic Zvada
It's unfortunately getting increasingly difficult to justify keeping Sauls around if these struggles continue.
His minicamp faceplant comes right on the heels of a rough showing at OTAs, where the 24-year-old connected on a brutal 4-of-10 field goals and couldn't live up to the moment at minicamp, while Zvada was busy drilling all 13 of his attempts. Sauls desperately needed a strong start to minicamp to erase those OTA struggles and prove the spot belongs to him, but hitting just 55% of his kicks on the first day is a terrible look for a guy trying to prove he can stick.
What in the world is going on? It feels like just yesterday the man with the cool "Better call Sauls" nickname was going to put an end to New York's kicking woes for good.
At this rate, general manager Joe Schoen and Co. can't afford to waste valuable reps on a player who isn't actually stirring up competition. The smart move for Schoen would be to cut ties with Sauls sooner rather than later and pivot to someone else.
Instead of handing Zvada the job without a real push against a struggling Sauls, the G-Men might look to bring in an experienced veteran who can actually push the rookie. If Zvada can handle the heat from a proven veteran and plays as good or wins outright, Harby can feel comfortable rolling with the high-upside rookie as his starter entering the 2026 season.
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