New York Giants: Analyzing punter switch

By Ryan Disdier | Sep 4, 2015

According to multiple outlets, including NFL Media’s Rand Getlin, the New York Giants released Steve Weatherford.

Weatherford was the team’s punter since 2011, replacing Matt Dodge. In addition to releasing the fan-favorite punter, the Giants executed a rare trade for a punter, giving up a conditional seventh-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Brad Wing.

It was likely a strictly financial move, as Wing is still on his rookie deal. According to Art Stapleton, the former Steelers is due to make $510 thousand this year, as he’s still on his rookie deal. Weatherford was due to earn $3.075 million.

Brad Wing is due to make $510K this season.
Steve Weatherford was due to make $3.075M, including $1.75M in dead money.#Giants #math
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) September 4, 2015

Although Giants fans beloved Weatherford (I’ve seen more people wearing Weatherford jerseys than you’d probably expect), it’s a business, and it was time for Weatherford to go.

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Weatherford, who also played for the Jets and Saints, was in decline for the past two seasons. In 2013, Weatherford averaged 38.2 yards per punt and kicked the ball into the end zone seven times. Although it’s possible he was just in a slump, there’s really no reason to wait around to see if a 32-year-old punter will rebound.

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Last year, he averaged a pedestrian 45.5 yards per punt, while surrendering six touchbacks. Weatherford was a good punter, but he was earning top-tier, elite-level money, and he simply was not worth it.

He had a good leg, but he wasn’t the coffin-corner punter Jeff Feagles once was. Rather inconsistent, Weatherford was probably worth a fraction of what he was due. Seeing Weatherford get cut is surprising, but not too surprising.

He had a solid career with the Giants, and he’ll be remembered for his insane physique, trash-talking and being the team’s emergency quarterback.

With Weatherford gone, Wing is now the lead punter for the Giants. He’s probably going to be retained for a while, and the Australian can flat-out destroy the football. He has an exceptionally strong leg, though he lacks the consistency at this juncture of his career.

Wing’s young, however, and he’ll have an opportunity to improve on his game. He’s a bit raw, but the rawness of a punter probably won’t win or lose games for a team.

The 24-year-old out of LSU is a bit of an athlete, as he “scored” on a fake punt in college and threw a two-point conversion on a botched/fake extra point attempt last year in Pittsburgh.

He’s also friends with Odell Beckham Jr., so that’s worth noting, too.

However, Wing wasn’t traded for so he and OBJ could pal around. It was a financial move, and it makes me wonder what the Giants have planned next. Essentially, the Giants probably won’t lose too much in terms of production by letting Weatherford go and nabbing Wing.

Is it possible New York reaches out to a tantalizing free agent with the bit of cap space — roughly $815K –they’ve freed up? I view it as a possibility, especially with veteran tackle Jake Long still on the open market. Who knows, though? It wouldn’t shock me if the Giants did nothing with the money right now.

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