Giants’ Free Agency Target: Could Nick Folk join Big Blue?

With Robbie Gould a free agent and his return uncertain, the New York Giants do not have a veteran placekicker on their roster. Which makes the fact that the New York Jets recently released Nick Folk noteworthy.

A 10-year veteran, the 32-year-old Folk has played his home games in the Meadowlands for the Jets since 2010. In seven seasons with Gang Green, Folk made 175-of-213 field-goal attempts (82.2 percent). Folk spent his first three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, and has made 781.3 percent of his career attempts. He is 23-of-39 (58.9 percent) from beyond 50 yards.

Gould, 35, went 10-for-10 in field-goal attempts with the Giants after taking over from Josh Brown and Randy Bullock. Gould is the seventh-most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history at 85.9 percent. Folk is 33rd on that list.

The issue with Gould, as we have discussed before, is leg strength. The Giants did not allow him to attempt a field goal beyond 47 yards in 2016, although he was 7-of-9 from beyond 50 yards with a long of 55 yards for the Chicago Bears in 2015. Gould’s kickoffs were also woefully inadequate. He has just 19 touchbacks in 41 kickoffs, just 46.3 percent. In 2016, Folk had 39 touchbacks in 68 kickoffs, 57.4 percent.

Would Folk be a better option than Gould? Your thoughts, Giants fans?