The New York Giants are adding another committee member to their backfield. According to a report from ESPN, the Giants are set to sign former Steelers and Chargers running back Najee Harris to a one-year deal.
Harris spent the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh, rushing 1,112 times for 4,373 yards and 28 touchdowns after being selected with the Steelers' 2021 first-round pick. He did not have his fifth-year option picked up and signed with the Chargers in March 2025.
He dealt with an eye injury during training camp and missed considerable time before returning from the physically unable to perform list shortly before the start of the season. He split work with then-rookie Omarion Hampton early in the season before tearing his Achilles during L.A.'s Week 3 win over the Broncos, then missed the rest of the year.
Now, he joins a Giants backfield that was already fairly crowded, so it'll be interesting to see how things shake out here.
Adding to the already crowded RB room
New York seemingly had 2025 fourth-round pick Cam Skattebo entrenched as the lead back entering this season, but he's coming off a complex leg injury that included an open tibia fracture, an ankle dislocation and a rupture of the deltoid ligament. He underwent surgery and spent much of the offseason rehabbing, though he has been available throughout training camp.
Skattebo was expected to split work with 2024 fifth-rounder Tyrone Tracy, who has led the team in carries in each of the last two seasons. Tracy split work with Devin Singletary in 2024, then with Skattebo early last year, before sharing it with Singletary again following Skattebo's injury.
Singletary also remains on the roster and figured heavily in the Giants' first preseason game, where all three backs rotated in on the snaps where Jaxson Dart was under center.
Of the starting offense's 16 snaps, Tracy played seven, Skattebo played five, and Singletary played four, while fullback Patrick Ricard played five as well, according to Pro Football Focus. (Dart played 14 snaps and missed two snaps due to a concussion check.)
Harris' entrance into the fold complicates things for everyone. He's a huge, hulking back at 6-1, 242 pounds, seemingly making him a fit for early-down grinder work; but he's also been a fairly strong pass protector throughout his career, which means he could eat into third-down snaps as well.
It's also worth noting that Giants coach John Harbaugh has often favored big backs, with players like Derrick Henry, Gus Edwards, Mark Ingram II, Alex Collins, Le'Ron McClain, Terrence West, Willis McGahee and more getting the majority of the carries during Harbaugh's time as head coach of the Ravens. (Smaller backs like Ray Rice and Justin Forsett led the Ravens on occasion as well, but there were more big backs.) Harris fits into that mold of players, at least in terms of sheer size. Skattebo, Tracy and Singletary do not.
Missing piece?
The Giants could just be bringing in Harris as a camp body, but they already have plenty of depth at the position, so that seems somewhat unlikely. The more likely explanation is that they don't feel great about the current crop of backs on the roster; there were rumors earlier in the offseason that they could spend on a running back in free agency, such as Kenneth Walker III, and that they were interested in Jeremiyah Love in the draft. Harris is not as high-caliber an option as those players, but bringing him in this late in the game does signal that they feel something is missing in the room.
Given the late addition, it's worth wondering whether Tracy and/or Singletary could be the odd man out on cutdown day in a few weeks. Neither of them was acquired under the Harbaugh regime, and most teams aren't going to carry four backs into the regular season. Tracy's probably the more interesting player for the future given his explosiveness, but Singletary is a coaches' favorite who is dependable as a blocker and pass-catcher. Either one of them could potentially be of interest to other teams in need of a second or third back toward the end of the preseason.
