The New York Giants replaced former Super Bowl champion punter Steve Weatherford with Brad Wing at the end of training camp last year. Having liked what they saw in his first year with the team, the Giants moved Monday to sign Wing to a long-term contract.
The team announced that the deal runs through 2019. A source with knowledge of the deal said it includes $6.45 million in new money and $3.725 million in guarantees -- a nice deal for a punter who made $510,000 last year and was scheduled to make $600,000 this coming season.
Wing, 25, was fifth in the NFL last year with 33 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Of the four punters in front of him on that list, only one had fewer punts than Wing's 76. So while his gross (44.5) and net (38.9) averages were far from eye-popping, Wing pinned the Giants' opponent inside the 20 on more than 43 percent of his kicks.
It's also worth noting that Wing is probably star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.'s best friend on the team. The two were teammates at LSU. Not that you'd sign a punter long term just to keep your superstar happy, but I'm sure it occurred to someone there during the process that it would have that effect.
The Giants got Wing from Pittsburgh last fall in exchange for their seventh-round pick in this year's draft.
