By:
Conor Martin
Former Derry Gaelic footballer Jude McAtamney has been shown the door by NFL side the New York Giants.
The Irishman joined the New York Giants as their designated international player and was handed a golden break when starting kicker Graham Gano was injured.
Despite signing eight-year veteran Younghoe Koo as backup, the Giants rolled the dice and promoted McAtamney onto the main roster.
At first, it looked like a fairytale start. However, everything went south after the loss to the Denver Broncos, during which McAtamney missed two extra points, a feat that NFL players typically nail 96% of the time.
To make things worse, Denver then snatched a 33–32 win with a last-second field goal.
McAtamney now needs to think through his next steps carefully if he wants to continue his American adventure.
How can Jude McAtamney get his NFL career back on track?
The most realistic route back into the NFL for Jude McAtamney is through free agency.
As a newly available kicker, he can put himself on the radar of any team suddenly in need of fresh legs, and with injuries and inconsistency always hitting special-teams units, opportunities do pop up.
His big advantage is his International Player Pathway status, which gives teams a little more roster flexibility and could make him a slightly more appealing gamble.
But there’s no getting around it. Those recent high-profile misses will raise doubts and force front offices to question whether he’s ready for pressure moments.
Another option is landing on an NFL practice squad. It’s not glamorous, but it would keep him inside the league’s ecosystem while giving him time to rebuild trust.
To make that happen, McAtamney will need to sharpen his technique and just as importantly, rebuild his confidence when the game is on the line.
If the NFL doesn’t call right away, alternative American football leagues and development pathways could be crucial.
This could be exactly what he needs to power his way back onto an NFL roster and reignite his American football career.
Irish NFL kicker must overcome potential challenges to save NFL career
At just 25, Jude McAtamney faces more than just technical challenges — he must rebuild his mental game to rediscover the form that got him to the NFL.
For kickers, mental resilience is everything. One missed kick can change a game and shape public perception overnight. Without toughness, errors can spiral into hesitation, anxiety, and further misses.
McAtamney knows this all too well. After his high-profile misses, he faced a wave of online abuse, including even death threats. Reflecting on the experience, he said:
“The social media aspect of it blew up; there was no blocking it out. I felt like if I was able to read messages about people that were messaging me to go kill myself and not let it bother me, in a weird way, I was like, ‘What’s the worst they can throw at me then?'”
If he can manage the online hate and rebuild his confidence, McAtamney could not only silence the critics but also return to top form, proving that mental strength is just as crucial as skill on the NFL stage.
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