Najee Harris spent Monday working out for the Giants, and by Tuesday it was a done deal. Jordan Schultz and Ian Rapoport both reported New York is signing the free-agent running back, closing the loop on a visit that Adam Schefter first flagged less than 24 hours earlier.
Harris isn't just a camp body. From 2021 through 2024 with the Steelers he ran for 1,000 yards in every single season, one of only a handful of backs in NFL history to open a career that way, and piled up 34 total touchdowns along the way. That resume got him a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie and made him one of the more durable workhorses in the league — right up until last year.
The 2025 season with the Chargers was a disaster. Harris tore his Achilles, an injury that typically ends a season and threatens the following one too. Jordan Schultz noted he's since made a full recovery, and now Harris makes an odd little jump: from Jim Harbaugh's Chargers to John Harbaugh's Giants.
Not everyone is sold on what this actually means for New York's backfield. Hayden Winks framed it bluntly — he thinks Harris is probably cooked at this stage, but figures his value here is as a pass-pro option, and that the real story is what it says about the Giants' incumbent depth behind Cam Skattebo.
Najee is likely cooked, but my guess is his pass pro depth is valued. Infinitely more of an indictment on the Tracy/Singletary guys than anything about Cam Skattebo, who was good last year and good in the preseason game. Biggest takeaway is full fade of Tracy.
The corresponding move landed a few hours later. Adam Schefter reported the Giants are planning to release veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to make the math work, a straightforward subtraction to balance the Harris addition on the roster.
It's a fast, almost brutal churn of a roster move — one guy walks in off a torn Achilles and a wideout who was still catching passes for the Chiefs a year ago walks out the door. For a Giants team leaning on John Harbaugh to sort out a crowded backfield, Harris is a low-cost bet on name recognition and pass-blocking over the alternative of standing pat.