4 RBs the NY Giants should stay away from in free agency
By Zak Musso
It’s not a hyperbole to say that this is the most important offseason in New York Giants history. After a stunningly succesful 2022 campaign, Joe Schoen and the Giants front office have countless decisions to make. With $44 million (for now) in cap space, Schoen will have to figure out how to disperse that to upgrade the Giants roster in hopes to build off the strong 2022 season.
Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley are free agents, but the widespread expecation is that both will return to New York in 2023. To truly upgrade the roster, Schoen is going to have find marginal upgrades, something he thrived at in 2022.
One position Schoen could look at is the running back position. If Schoen can sign a strong backup RB, it will take a lot of pressure off of Barkley. There are a ton of free agent running backs who could be fits, but plenty that we don’t like. Here are four RBs the NY Giants should stay away from in free agency:
4. RB Matt Breida
The 27-year-old running back had a decent 2022 season as Barkley’s primary backup, rushing for 220 yards and one touchdown on 54 attempts. Breida also hauled in 20 passes for 118 yards. Despite playing sparingly in 2022, the veteran running back posted career lows in yards per rush and yards per reception in 2022.
The most concerning aspect surrounding Breida: his extensive injury history. Breida has only played a full season of football in two out of his six NFL seasons, part of the reason he has played on four different teams the last four years. Breida’s slender 5-10, 190-pound frame makes him succepitble to future injuries.
Barkley is an injury prone running back, making his backup a very important job. It makes very little sense to have his backup also be a player with significant durability concerns. We think Schoen and Co. should look elsewhere.