Jason Kelce deleted a tweet about New York Giants kicker Jude McAtamney, who was cut by the team after missing two extra points against the Denver Broncos.
“Giants kicker is gonna have to fly home on Southwest,” Kelce, 37, shared via X on Sunday, October 19. The post has since been deleted.
McAtamney, 25, was waived by the Giants on Tuesday, October 21.
During the team’s dramatic 33-32 loss to the Broncos on Sunday, McAtamney missed two extra points, including one with 37 seconds remaining that would have given the Giants a three-point lead.
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The Broncos then drove down the field and kicker Wil Lutz nailed a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give Denver the comeback victory.
“Got to make the kicks,” McAtamney said afterward. “Not gonna shy away from that. I’ll take full responsibility.”
McAtamney also missed an extra point in the Giants’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, October 9.
A native of Ireland, McAtamney played college football at Rutgers University before signing with the Giants as an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
McAtamney dealt with adversity during his college playing days, as well. In his final year at Rutgers, he was replaced as the school’s field goal kicker.
When it was time for NFL scouts to visit campus to take stock of players’ potential professional futures, McAtamney didn’t even want to attend.
“The preparations had started for the college pro day, where NFL teams come to your school to watch you, and two weeks before, I was sitting in my apartment in New Brunswick [New Jersey]. I said to my girlfriend, ‘I’m not going to do this, I just don’t want to,’” McAtamney told the BBC’s “GAA Social” podcast in February. “I was at a point where I didn’t think I could. How my college career went, I didn’t think on paper it was good enough to impress NFL scouts or coaches.”
McAtamney added, “I was missing home at that point, too, which influenced how I was thinking and feeling.”
Ultimately, McAtamney credited his girlfriend, Anna O’Kane, with convincing him to attend.
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“She told me to just do it, that I’d regret not doing it,” McAtamney explained. “Fast forward two weeks and I was in a good space. It was do-or-die. If I didn’t kick well that day, I wouldn’t have had a shot. Looking back now, you’d be so stupid to take that opportunity for granted but being on the other side of it was a different perspective.”
The Giants currently have veteran kicker Younghoe Koo on their practice squad and fellow veteran Graham Gano is eligible to return to the Giants’ lineup after missing four games while on injured reserve with a groin injury.
Gano, 38, was hurt during warmups ahead of the team’s Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
At time of publication, the Giants had not officially announced McAtamney’s replacement for their next game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, October 26.
