Giants sign Najee Harris to one-year deal

This comes two weeks after The Athletic’s Dan Duggan said the team could look to add a veteran running back before the team’s season opener. Harris, 28, suffered a torn Achilles in Week 3 of last season and has been working toward a return. He met with the Raiders earlier this offseason and will now meet with the Giants, who have a relatively crowded backfield with Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy, and a proven vet in Devin Singletary. If Harris were to join the Giants, we would expect him to work behind both Skattebo and Tracy.

Duggan buried this thought in a lengthy social media post last Wednesday. He says Giants RBs Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy “are fine,” but notes that the front office was “open to upgrading to a premier back,” referring to Cardinals rookie RB Jeremiyah Love. Duggan “could see a vet signing,” like free agent RB Najee Harris (Achilles) once he is healthy, “or a trade.” A veteran like Harris would slide into the RB3 role, and might occasionally steal enough touches to hurt Skattebo’s weekly ceiling outcomes. A premier back would have a much larger impact, but a player like that would obviously be much harder to acquire at this point. That outcome seems far less likely at this point, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants added another name to the backfield.

Harris visited with the Seahawks on Wednesday and now has a visit with the Raiders on tap. The 28-year-old running back is still recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered last season, but has been seen running at full speed in recent videos. While Harris will need to be able to do more than run in a straight line when he returns to football activities, the veteran running back is clearly trending in the right direction ahead of training camp. Harris would operate as the clear RB2 in Vegas behind Ashton Jeanty if he were to join the Raiders, but could find a role in head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense, given Kubiak’s tendency to utilize multiple backs. Harris rushed 15 times for 61 scoreless yards before his injury last season, but strung together four-straight 1,000-yard campaigns with the Steelers to start his career.

A vacuum in need is a vacuum indeed, and with Kenneth Walker gone, Emanuel Wilson is likely the No. 1 back on the depth chart at this point in the offseason. Harris missed most of last season with a torn Achilles after a 15/61 rushing line in a few weeks with the Chargers. He’s somehow still only 28. It is a fit that makes sense from the outside if the Seahawks are comfortable with Harris’ medicals. Ian Rapoport reports that Harris plans to visit the Raiders in the near future.

In a video posted to social media, Harris was reportedly “running with ease at 15 MPH.” The veteran running back still has a long way to go in his recovery since going down in Week 3 of last season, but with free agency looming, Harris is hoping to prove to a team that he’s worth taking a chance on this upcoming season. Whether or not he’ll sign before fully healthy is unknown, but Harris, 27, should have plenty of suitors lining up to bring him in on a one-year prove-it deal this offseason.

Harbaugh didn’t leave much to the imagination following Sunday’s game when he said preliminary tests indicated a torn Achilles for Harris, who went down on a non-contact play. It’s a season-ender for the 27-year-old running back whose 2025 challenges began with a fireworks accident on July 4th. Harris signed a one-year contract with the Chargers this offseason and sees his season come to an end with a 15-61-0 rushing line to go with three receptions for 25 scoreless yards. Harris will be a free agent this offseason and could be faced with having to sign a one-year prove-it deal wherever he lands next.

Harris is undergoing imaging to confirm, but speaking after Sunday’s game, Harbaugh didn’t hesitate to say what the team expects to learn. Harris went down with a non-contact injury in the second quarter while taking a handoff from Justin Herbert and was eventually helped to the sideline. A torn Achilles would be a season ender for the veteran running back who signed a one-year contract with the Chargers this offseason. We would expect to have a more definite answer on Harris’ injury soon.

Harris’ left leg collapsed as he pushed off to accept a handoff from Justin Herbert in the second quarter. He was down on the turf for several minutes before being helped to the sideline. It would be surprising if Harris returned anytime soon, or if he played at all for the rest of this season after an apparently serious injury. Omarion Hampton will likely see a small bump in touches with Harris out.

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