John Harbaugh rose through the ranks to become an NFL head coach following a different trajectory than most: He was a special teams coordinator. That area of expertise remains near and dear to his heart, and thus it comes as no surprise that he went out and found one of the best punters in the league to come to the Giants.
On the first day teams were allowed to negotiate with free agents from other teams, the Giants on Monday secured the services of Jordan Stout, who spent his first four NFL seasons with Harbaugh in Baltimore. That Stout received a three-year contract for $12.3 million, The Post confirmed — making him the highest-paid punter in the league — reflects how much Harbaugh values the entire kicking operation.
Harbaugh was not impressed with Jamie Gillan, who handled the punting for the Giants for the past four seasons. One year ago, Gillan signed a three-year extension for $9 million but he only made it through one year. Parting ways with Gillan, a left-footer dubbed The Scottish Hammer, will save the Giants only $1.2 million on the 2026 salary cap.
Stout, 27, is an accomplished punter, making the first-team All Pro and the Pro Bowl in 2025 after averaging a career-high 50.1 yards on his 53 punts. In his four-year career, Stout averaged 47.5 yards and had 100 punts inside the 20-yard line.
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How much does Harbaugh appreciate this? He signed off on making Stout a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. At Penn State, Stout was the Big Ten Punter of the Year in 2021.
It will likely be a clean-house in the kicking game for the Giants, as place kicker Graham Gano is expected to be released.
