Let’s play a (Chris) Board game. The rules are simple: you free up $2.1 million by making one decision. The catch? That decision means releasing a guy you believed in, a player who beat the odds and carved out a relatively successful eight-year NFL career after you gave him a shot as an undrafted free agent in 2018.
That's the seemingly incredibly unfun game New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh will have to play this offseason with linebacker Chris Board.
The 30-year-old signed a two-year, $6 million deal last offseason to help Big Blue's special teams woes and provide some break-glass-in-case-of-emergency LB help if need be. Unfortunately, a season-ending chest injury in Week 2 ended his first season in East Rutherford. Not only was it a big loss for the special teams group, but he was doing an admirable job filling in for Micah McFadden and Darius Muasau, who were injured at the time.
His injury and his age put him in somewhat of a compromised spot heading into 2026 free agency, but the real kicker is his contract sitch with the G-Men. The cap-strapped Giants can save $2.1 million by releasing the veteran linebacker, which will be a brutal decision for Harbaugh in particular.
John Harbaugh staring down a $2.1 million Chris Board dilemma this offseason
Harby and Board go way back. The 63-year-old took a flier on the former North Dakota State standout in 2018 as a UDFA. They spent five seasons together in Baltimore, with Board making brief stops in Detroit and New England along the way, before he landed in North Jersey in 2025.
It might not feel like that important of a decision to save a measly $2.1 million, but with only $5.1 million in open space at the moment, every penny saved counts.
The problem is he’s a Harbaugh favorite, and the Giants already have needs at linebacker and on special teams. So why would they voluntarily make life harder by cutting a guy who fills both roles? The savings aren’t massive in the grand scheme of things, but they’re still savings. And it’s not like there won’t be options in free agency or the draft if they decide to go younger or better.
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Still, it’ll ultimately come down to Harbaugh and how much sentiment he’s willing to ignore. Sometimes that means cutting one of your own to keep the bigger picture intact. We’ll see how much being boys with the head coach actually gets you on this Board.