The New York Giants have ended their placekicking competition, selecting last year's starter Josh Brown for the role.
Brown was up against 23-year-old rookie Brandon McManus for a spot on the team's roster, but Tom Coughlin's side have opted to choose the veteran instead.
McManus was traded away to the Denver Broncos after being cut, although Brown admitted that he was sad to see their working relationship end.
He told Giants.com: "You build a relationship as much as you may not even want to. It is a bit awkward, but at the same time I told my wife, 'He reminds me so much of me. I cannot pick on this kid.'
"If I get him angry, he's going to get that much better. So I became friends with him and I knew what he needed on the field. I could see what he was doing and if he wanted my advice, I gave it to him. I was very honest with him and upfront.
"I openly talked about the fact somebody was going to lose their job because it is what it is. I told him, 'this is my job, it's mine and you will have to take it from me.'"
Brown enjoyed an excellent debut campaign with the Giants, converting 23 of 26 field goal attempts and all 31 of his PAT kicks.
Joe McPhee
