Najee Harris, giants, NFL: Los Angeles Chargers Offseason Workout
Najee Harris, giants, NFL: Los Angeles Chargers Offseason Workout
The Giants signed running back Najee Harris to a one-year veteran-minimum deal on Aug. 18 and released wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the corresponding move. The 28-year-old worked out for the team a day earlier and signed a contract worth $1.215 million with no guaranteed money.
That price tag tells the story of the bet. This is a low-cost swing at a former Pro Bowler coming off a torn Achilles, and it lands in a backfield that was already crowded and already banged up before Harris walked in the door.
A veteran-minimum flier with almost no downside
Najee Harris, NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders
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Harris carries a $1.7 million cap hit on a fully non-guaranteed deal. The Giants can move on at any point before the season without eating dead money, which makes this closer to an extended tryout than a roster commitment. For a front office that traded Daniel Faalele for a 2027 pick and has been trimming veteran salary all summer, a minimum contract for a back with a 1,000-yard résumé is exactly the kind of cheap upside they were hunting.
Four 1,000-yard seasons, then an Achilles
Harris rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first four NFL seasons. 1,200 yards as a 2021 rookie in Pittsburgh, followed by 1,034, 1,035, and 1,043 through 2024. He was the 24th overall pick in 2021 and never missed a start across those four seasons, a durability record that made his 2025 exit so jarring.
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers
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Harris ruptured his left Achilles on a noncontact play in Week 3 of the 2025 season with the Chargers and finished the year with just 15 carries for 61 yards. Coach John Harbaugh estimated it would take two to three weeks to get him game ready, and Harris did not sugarcoat the climb, saying he has “a lot to prove as somebody coming back from a torn Achilles,” via ESPN. His career average has never been flashy at 3.9 yards per carry, so the real question is whether a post-Achilles version can still move a pile.
The backfield was already crowded and banged up
Cam Skattebo turned into the room’s most productive back before his rookie year ended, running for 410 yards and five touchdowns on 101 carries and adding 24 catches for 207 yards and two scores across eight games. His season stopped in late October against the Eagles, when he suffered a dislocated ankle along with an open fracture and a ruptured ligament. Skattebo has set training camp as his target for a return, but that is a gruesome injury to bank on for a full workload in Week 1.
New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo (44) warms up during a preseason opening game between the New York Giants and
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Tyrone Tracy Jr. ran for 839 yards at 4.4 per carry and cleared 1,000 scrimmage yards as a 2024 rookie, but his own footing is shaky now. He lost early-season time to injury in 2025 and has put two preseason ball-security miscues on tape this month. Harris does not need to beat out a healthy version of either back to earn snaps, he just needs to be more reliable than a recovering Skattebo and a fumble-prone Tracy.
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Back Signature season Key numbers 2026 status
Najee Harris 2021 (rookie, PIT) 1,200 rush yds, 307 carries Recovering from torn Achilles
Cam Skattebo 2025 (rookie) 410 rush yds, 5 TD in 8 games Returning from ankle surgery
Tyrone Tracy Jr. 2024 (rookie) 839 rush yds, 4.4 YPC On the roster bubble
What Harris actually gives them
Harris profiles as a short-yardage and early-down grinder rather than a home-run hitter, which is why the fit works on paper even at a diminished level. A backfield built around a recovering Skattebo needs a between-the-tackles option who can absorb goal-line and third-and-short carries, and a four-time 1,000-yard rusher clears that bar even at 3.9 yards per carry for his career. Forcing his way into carries, though, means fewer touches for Skattebo and Tracy, and that math gets uncomfortable fast if Harris is only two weeks from full health.
The signing is smart precisely because it commits nothing. If Harris looks like his Pittsburgh self, the Giants found a starting-caliber back for the minimum. If the Achilles has stolen his burst, they cut bait without a dime of dead cap. Harbaugh’s staff bought a lottery ticket with a rookie-minimum price and a Pro Bowl ceiling, and the only real cost is the carries it takes from two backs who have plenty to prove themselves.