On Tuesday afternoon, the New York Giants sent a jolt through the NFL world when they benched Russell Wilson in favor of Jaxson Dart ahead of this week's game against the Los Angeles Chargers. The move gives many Giants fans what they have been clamoring for ever since Dart lit it up during his stint in the preseason.
However, that wasn't the only move that New York made on the afternoon.
“In other #Giants news: The team is signing former #Falcons K Younghoe Koo to their practice squad,” reported NFL insider Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on X, formerly Twitter, citing reporting from both himself and Mike Garafolo.
The Giants were without kicker Graham Gano throughout most of the night against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday after he suffered a pregame groin injury, which may have influenced the team's decision to sign Koo.
In the early years of the 2020s, Koo was one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL, becoming a fan favorite in Atlanta and winning them several games with clutch kicks. However, Koo has since fallen out of favor with the Falcons' fanbase after struggling over the last two years, capped off by a missed 44-yarder against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that would have tied the game in Week 1, after which the team released him.
A big day for the Giants
While having more depth in the kicking department is certainly not a bad thing, the big news of the day for the Giants is undoubtedly the Jaxson Dart promotion and subsequent Russell Wilson benching.
It was less than ten days ago that Wilson lit up the Dallas Cowboys for nearly 500 yards in a thrilling contest; however, he came crashing back down to earth during Sunday's loss vs Kansas City, drawing immense frustration from the fanbase in the process.
New York will now hope that Dart can channel the same magic that worked for him in the preseason against starting NFL defenses, and he'll have to start off against an elite one in the Los Angeles Chargers. New York and Los Angeles are slated to kick things off on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
