The Carolina Panthers have acquired kicker Ryan Santoso from the New York Giants in a trade for a conditional seventh-round draft choice, the club announced Thursday.
Santoso was on the Giants practice squad last year and has yet to attempt a field goal in his career; he handled 17 kickoffs for the Tennessee Titans in 2019, recording touchbacks on nine of them.
He will compete with Joey Slye, who was good on 29 of 36 field goals for the Panthers last season, with five of those misses coming from a distance of 50-plus. He's missed from distances of 37 and 63 this preseason and has struggled in practice, however, and coach Matt Rhule has intensified competition for the job, noting that Slye has been in a "lull." The Panthers cut K Dominik Eberle in a corresponding move.
The condition for the seventh-round pick requires Santoso to play two games this season for the Panthers.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that the Giants were fielding offers for Santoso, who was expendable given the club's liking for Graham Gano at the position. Gano was near perfect on field goals last season for the Giants (31 of 32).
