NY Giants running back Wayne Gallman’s NY Giants career is pretty much now effectively over after the signing of Devonta Freeman.
The writing already appeared to be on the wall for Wayne Gallman in terms of his future with the NY Giants in this past weekend’s game against the Chicago Bears as he was a healthy scratch – leaving the team with just two active tailbacks – but now, it’s a longshot that he’ll ever see the field with Big Blue again.
One of the few remaining holdovers from the Jerry Reese regime, Gallman was thought to be fighting for his job already this offseason as he headed into the final year of his rookie contract after the NY Giants signed veteran Dion Lewis to back up Saquon Barkley.
Last season, when Barkley went down with his high-ankle sprain in Week 3, Gallman figured to get his first real chance to be the team’s lead back again since the Barkley pick, only for the former Clemson standout to suffer numerous injuries of his own as he was never able to make an impact in 2019 outside of one game against Washington.
Before Dave Gettleman made Saquon Barkley the second-overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, Gallman was actually thought the be a potential piece moving forward and potentially even get a crack at being the team’s lead back in the years to come.
That all changed when #26 rolled into town and he was delegated to the bench, as the former fourth-round draft pick has amassed just 70 carries since then and has yet to top 4,0 yards-per-carry in any season since.
Gallman did show the potential to be a productive ‘back when called upon during his rookie year as he compiled 669 total yards (476 rushing, 193 recieving) on a 4.3 rushing average despite just starting one game.
Barring any more injuries, Gallman’s time with the NY Giants is about to come to a close after the team added former All-Pro Devonta Freeman on Tuesday, as he won’t be much of a factor moving forward.
Does Wayne Gallman have any trade value for the NY Giants?
Normally, I’d say the NY Giants would be hard-pressed to find any trade suitors for a running back that has been unimpressive over the past few seasons given the current climate of how franchises value the position, but with all the running back injuries we’ve seen already this season, there is a chance that Gettleman could fetch a late-round pick for the 25-year-old ‘back.
With a cap hit of just $569K and no financial committment past 2020, I could see a running back-needy team taking a seventh-round flier on the upside that Gallman possesses.
Even though there are many attractive options on the free-agent market, it’s unlikely that any of them are in the type of game shape that Gallman currently is which would make him a more attractive option.