New York Giants work out 5 punters as possible Jamie Gillan protection

With punter Jamie Gillan questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the New York Giants on Friday worked out potential emergency replacements.

The Giants’ punter workout reportedly included the following:

Nolan Cooney
Pressley Harvin
Matt Haack
Lou Hedley
Ty Zentner

Haack began his NFL career in 2017 and has kicked in 99 regular-season games. He punted for the Miami Dolphins for four seasons, and the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts for one. He punted in one game for the Cleveland Browns last season.

Harvin punted for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2021-2023. Hedley punted in all 17 games for the New Orleans Saints last season. Zentner punted in nine games in 2023, four for the Houston Texans and five for the Tennessee Titans. Cooney punted in four games for the Arizona Cardinals last season.

To have one of these punters available Sunday, the Giants would have to add him to their practice squad by 4 p.m. ET Saturday and elevate him to the game day roster. Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, the Giants are expected to see how Gillan feels on Saturday before making a decision on whether or not to add a punter.

The Giants have been burned twice this season by game day roster management decisions involving players who were on the injury report.

In Week 1, they counted on Gunner Olszewski to return punts despite a groin injury that had sidelined him for several weeks. Olszewski re-injured the groin during pre-game warmups and the Giants were left without a viable punt return option. Darius Slayton muffed a punt during that game against the Minnesota Vikings.

In Week 2, placekicker Graham Gano was on the injury report with a groin issue. The Giants chose not to elevate practice squad placekicker Jude McAtamney. They were burned by that decision in a 21-18 loss to the Washington Commanders when Gano pulled a hamstring on the opening play, an injury he said was unrelated to the groin. Gillan missed an extra point and the Giants failed on a pair of two-point conversions in that game.

Will they choose to protect themselves this time?