Giants release punter Brad Wing after subpar 2017 season

The New York Giants have released punter Brad Wing.

Wing, 27, is coming off a miserable 2017 campaign. He averaged 44.1 yards per punt, ranked 24th in the NFL. His 36.7 yard net average was last in the league among eligible punters.

Wing signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of LSU in 2013 an was subsequently released. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014. Wing became the first Australian-born player to score on a pass in a Week 9 game against the Baltimore Ravens. He completed a two-point conversion to tight end Matt Spaeth after a botched extra point snap.

Wing was traded to the Giants for a seventh-round draft pick before the start of the 2015 season. His best season with the Giants was 2016, when he averaged 46.2 yards per punt (ranked 12th in the NFL). His net average of 40.9 yards was ranked 10th in the league. Wing was also named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Weeks 14 and 15 of the 2016 season.

In addition to a statistical decline in performance, Wing had two punts blocked last season: in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams and Week 15 against the Eagles, both losses. He also shanked punts in clutch time in Week 3 against the Eagles and Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both losses.

Wing played with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in college and was one of Beckham’s best friends on the team. He had two years remaining on the three-year contract extension he signed in 2016 worth just over $7 million. The Giants free up $1 million by releasing him according to the website overthecap.com.

Wing’s release is part of the overhaul promised by general manager Dave Gettleman when he was brought in to succeed Jerry Reese. Thomas McGaughey was hired as special teams coordinator last month to revamp a unit that severely underperformed in 2017.

The only punter currently on the Giants’ roster is Austin Rehkow. Rehkow, who played collegiately at Idaho, signed a futures deal in January. He was released by the Buffalo Bills last preseason.

– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.