The Giants were pleased with what Brad Wing gave them last season as their hand-picked replacement for longtime punter Steve Weatherford. Now they are making an investment in Wing, announcing Monday a three-year extension that runs through the 2019 season.
The three-year extension is for $6.45 million and contains $3.725 million in guarantees. Clearly, the Giants view Wing as their punter now and into the future.
Wing, 25, previously signed a one-year, $600,000 deal for 2016 an exclusive rights free agent.
Wing had a 44.5 gross punting average and a net average of 38.9 yards in his first year with the Giants, his second NFL season. The left-footed Australian came to the Giants last Sept. 4 in a trade with the Steelers, and he quickly became a popular player. It did not hurt that he is one of star receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s best friends from their time together at LSU.
The Giants wanted Wing to get the ball out of bounds and inside the 20-yard line, and he delivered. His 33 punts put down inside the 20 matched a franchise record set by Brad Maynard in 1997 and 1998. Of his 76 punts, only 10 went for touchbacks.
The Giants head into training camp set with their kicking game in Wing and place-kicker Josh Brown. Wing did a fine job in 2015 as the holder for Brown on field goals.
The Giants will sport a new look for the 2016 season: They will wear white pants for all their regular-season games. They will continue to wear their blue jerseys with the white pants, which replace the traditional grey pants. The Giants have worn white pants at home on occasion in the past, including twice last season.
On the road, the Giants will continue to wear their grey pants and white jerseys. However, they will wear blue jerseys for the Sept. 11 opener, on the road, against the Cowboys. The Giants will wear an all-blue color rush uniform in Week 16, a nationally televised Thursday night game at Philadelphia.