Harris Is Gone, and the Offseason Plan Went With Him

The Giants released Najee Harris, ending an experiment that lasted roughly four carries and a public complaint. The team signed him in August on a one-year deal to anchor a power-running identity — the centerpiece of what John Harbaugh's staff was building around a backfield that already included Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary. That vision is now considerably thinner.

Harris came in with a real résumé. Four times he eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in a season, and the Giants brought him in specifically because that kind of proven, between-the-tackles production was what they felt they lacked. The signing made sense on paper. Whatever happened between August and now — the carries dried up, something was said publicly — it didn't hold.

The depth chart at running back still lists Tracy, Cam Skattebo, and Phil Mafah, so the room isn't bare. Tracy ran for 740 yards last season and Skattebo added 410 in only eight games, so there's usable talent there. But the Harris signing was supposed to be the load-bearing piece, the veteran presence that would make the run game a genuine identity rather than an aspiration. Now the Giants are back to figuring that out with younger, less proven options.

It's a strange outcome for a move that generated real optimism in August. The offseason plan had a shape to it; this chips away at that shape heading into the back half of the year.