Shelby Harris, New York Giants
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Shelby Harris #93 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates after defeating the Miami Dolphins at Huntington Bank Field.
The New York Giants are hosting free agent defensive tackle Shelby Harris at the team facility on Tuesday, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Harris, an 11-year NFL veteran, would make a fine addition to the Giants‘ defense. As things currently stand, they lack experience on their interior line, and former All-Pro Dexter Lawrence can’t do it all by himself.
Harris, after spending the last three seasons with the Cleveland Browns, is looking for a fresh start and could be attracted to the prospect of playing under John Harbaugh and his new-look Giants.
We’ll see if New York’s brass can close the deal on the veteran defensive tackle.
Shelby Harris’ Long & Winding Career
Before Harris possibly joins the New York Giants, it feels pertinent to note his impressive career path through the NFL, despite the numerous setbacks he faced.
The Las Vegas (then Oakland) Raiders selected the Illinois State product with the 235th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
His skid was possibly due to the fact that he was dismissed by the football team ahead of the 2013 season and missed his final year of college football.
In his first two years with the Raiders, Harris appeared in only eight games and was released before the 2016 season. He spent the next year bouncing between the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys practice squads before landing with the Denver Broncos in 2017.
It was in Denver where Harris would begin to make a name for himself. He broke out in that 2017 season with seven tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, second-most on the team behind Von Miller.
Harris would spend the next five years of his career with the Broncos, recording 21.5 sacks, 34 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles. He was rewarded with a three-year, $27 million extension in 2021.
The following offseason, Harris was a piece of the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade between the Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, included in the package with multiple premier draft picks, quarterback Drew Lock, and tight end Noah Fant.
Harris spent one year with Seattle, and then three years with the Cleveland Browns after that, until now.
State of the Giants Interior Defensive Line
A Harris addition makes a lot of sense for the current makeup of the New York Giants defense.
Lawrence is the Giants’ biggest star on the interior, of course. But next to him, you have 2025 third-round pick Darius Alexander and ninth-year veteran Roy Robertson-Harris.
Alexander has shown promise. In 16 games last season, he recorded 3.5 sacks and four tackles for loss.
Robertson-Harris, on the other hand, is on the decline. He was Pro Football Focus’s 91st-ranked defensive tackle last season among 134 qualified players.
The Giants did add former Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Sam Roberts on Monday, but he’s mostly a depth piece.
Adding a player like Harris could be the piece New York needs to completely turn around their league-worst run defense from last season.
They gave up an average of 145.3 rushing yards to opponents in 2025, ranked 31st in the league, just in front of the Cincinnati Bengals.