Giants make ruthless decision on kicker Jude McAtamney after his dismal day in Denver

The New York Giants have released kicker Jude McAtamney, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.

This decision comes after McAtamney missed two extra points against the Denver Broncos in one of the most crushing defeats of the season last Sunday.

After the Giants drove down the field to score a touchdown and take a 32-30 lead with 37 seconds left in the game last Sunday, McAtamney - who went undrafted out of Rutgers University - failed to convert his second extra point attempt of the game.

That miss left the door open for Denver to quickly move within field goal range to set up a game-winning kick from Will Lutz.

McAtamney missed an earlier extra point in the game after the Giants scored a touchdown to go up 13-0.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, McAtamney became the only kicker in the last 40 years to miss a pair of extra points in a one point loss where neither of the kicks were blocked.

McAtemney, the native of Derry, is a former Gaelic footballer who helped lead the Derry GAA to the Ulster U-20 Football Championship in 2018.

But he began his American football journey after hearing of Irish punter David Shanahan earning a scholarship to Georgia Tech.

After practicing and working with former Australian punter Tom Hackett, McAtamney accepted a scholarship to Division II Chowan University in North Carolina in 2021.

After just one season at the D-II level, McAtamney worked with the ProKick program in Australia before entering the transfer portal and moving to Rutgers in New Jersey.

He won the starting place kicker role in his first season, but lost that job in his final season. However, he remained the kickoff specialist for the Scarlet Knights.

Following an impressive pro day, McAtamney tried out for the Giants and converted all ten of his attempted kicks. This led the Giants to signing him as an undrafted free agent.

McAtamney was a practice squad player in the 2024 season and began 2025 in the same unit before being promoted after an injury to starting kicker Graham Gano.

It's believed that Gano will be trialled this week to see if he's fit to return to playing. If not, it's likely they will turn to practice squad member Younghoe Koo.