We have ourselves a kicker trade in the NFL, folks. As the preseason nears its end and teams are forced to make tough roster decisions to carve their personnel down to the mandatory 53-man head count, the New York Giants found themselves in a bit of a positive predicament. Having already signed kicker Graham Gano to an extension, nothing short of an injury was going to budge him from his seat, but then came along Ryan Santoso -- who impressed in August. That led the Giants to look for a trade partner for Santoso, and they found one in the Carolina Panthers, who reportedly traded for Santoso on Thursday, per Tom Rock of Newsday Sports.
In exchange for Santoso, the Panthers are sending a conditional seventh-round pick to New York -- per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network -- a fair exchange for a kicker with potential but not much experience at the NFL level. The seventh-round pick will go to the Giants if Santoso is on the Panthers active roster for at least two games.
The 26-year-old initially entered the league in 2018 as an undrafted free agent signing of the Detroit Lions, but he wasn't able to escape the team's practice squad before being released in 2019. From there, he'd take his talents to the CFL, where he spent less than a month with the Montreal Alouettes before re-entering the NFL in November 2019, going on to be released in Nashville less than four weeks later.
That led to a 2020 return to the CFL and the Alouettes, where Santoso then spent six months before being released -- this time not due to lack of progress but because the COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellation of the CFL season last year. Still searching for somewhere to make a long-term home, he joined the Giants last September as a member of their 16-man practice squad and was activated on two occasions before signing a futures contract for 2021 with Big Blue.
He'll now get a shot at being the guy in Carolina, after making five of his seven field goal attempts this preseason -- one of the misses sailing from an extremely lengthy 63 yards. Santoso was named by CBS Sports on Wednesday as one of the top potential trade moves ahead of the regular season and, one day later, he's a Panther.
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