The New York Giants could have been sitting at 3-4 heading into their Week 8 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, their second meeting this season as division rivals. But Week 7 was rough. Kicker Jude McAtamney missed a couple of crucial extra points, contributing to a loss against the Denver Broncos, the team’s fifth of the season.

In response, the Giants initially released McAtamney and signed defensive lineman Elijah Garcia to the practice squad. Fast forward to now, and the team re-signed McAtamney to the practice squad. That move raises an eyebrow: with Garcia already on the practice squad, how are the Giants able to add an extra player?

Well, Doug Rush of FanSided seems to have the answer, who reported the re-signing of McAtamney. Because McAtamney is part of the International Player Pathway Program, his practice-squad spot is exempt and thus doesn’t count toward the normal 16-player limit.

As for McAtamney, the 25-year-old kicker is Irish-born. So, no wonder Daboll and the Giants re-signed him less than 24 hours after waiving him. The Giants signed McAtamney as an undrafted free agent in 2024. Fast forward to now, and the 25-year-old has played in four games with the team. In the process, he has made a couple of field goal attempts. But?

McAtamney has missed three extra points over the last three games. That included two in the 33-32 loss to the Broncos in Week 7. In that game, he missed a crucial extra point after Jaxson Dart punched in a one-yard touchdown, putting the Giants ahead 32-30 with just 30 seconds remaining. That miss gave Denver the opening needed, and Wil Lutz drilled a game-winning field goal as time expired.

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“It’s on me,” he said after the game. “I missed vital points at vital times today. I’m not going to shy away from that.”

Now, with the Eagles lining up next, it’s hard to tell whether Brian Daboll would start McAtamney or not.

Brian Daboll’s kicker is expected to return in Week 8

The Giants have been starting with McAtamney for the past few weeks after their kicker, Graham Gano, suffered an injury. Gano went down with a groin injury in the final warmups ahead of the Week 3 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In his absence, McAtamney made both of his field-goal attempts (with a long of 31 yards) and went 9-for-12 on extra points over four games. And he could return for the Week 8 matchup against the Eagles.

The 38-year-old has been designated to return from injured reserve and is expected to practice this week ahead of Week 8. Before going down with a groin injury, Gano was perfect on all six of his field goal attempts. Plus, he also added four extra points. With Brian Daboll and his staff desperate to steady things, Gano’s return could be the boost their special teams has been missing.