It's been a very good offseason so far for the New York Giants, who have come in with a plan and executed it to near perfection. The goal was simple: add talent, add some meat and potatoes, and get ready to play some smash mouth football.
Success.
The Giants essentially subbed out 5-foot-8, 180-pound slot receiver Wan'Dale Robinson for 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end Isaiah Likely and 300-pound fullback Patrick Ricard, while bringing back 6-foot-4, 330-pound right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. That was by design. They also added Tremaine Edmunds and Greg Newsome II to the defense. But there are still holes on the roster: right guard, defensive tackle, receiver, and cornerback.
Related: Giants Free-Agency Tracker 2026: Signings, departures, cap space analysis, and more
However, don’t expect the G-Men to be all that active in the market outside of a savvy, cheap addition in free agency Wave 3. According to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, Big Blue is nearing the end of its free agent budget and is likely no longer willing to put up the money for a mid-tier guard, or any other position for that matter:
After speaking with sources Tuesday it became clear Giants pivoted and were no longer willing to pay a mid-tier guard. Unless that changes it eliminates the likelihood of signing a vet like Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio or Dylan Parham.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) March 11, 2026
In the meantime, they wait out that market.
Giants may have already hit the brakes on free agency spending
I have one word for this: Boooooooooooooooooo!
This is terrible news for Giants fans. Any one of Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio, or Dylan Parham would have been a nice little upgrade for an offensive line on the rise. Bringing back Eluemunor was a great start, but it always felt like they were going to get him some help on the right side. But now it seems very unlikely.
Teller, specifically, has been a guy Big Blue Nation has been interested in. New York's new offensive line coach, Mike Bloomgren, just came over from Cleveland, where Teller has spent the past seven years.
This is frustrating for a lot of reasons, but the biggest two are that franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart needs to be protected, and the interior O-line is aging and depleted.
They whiffed on adding Alijah Vera-Tucker and have already lost Austin Schlottmann to the Tennessee Titans. If they choose not to make any more mid-tier moves, that means they’re putting all their eggs in the basket of Jon Runyan, Marcus Mbow, and Jake Kubas. Is Harbaugh that confident in those three to protect his 22-year-old up-and-coming QB? Bold move.
If they do wait out the market and go diving in the bargain bin, there's a good chance they turn back to 36-year-old Greg Van Roten, who has started all 34 games for Big Blue the past two years. Perhaps a reunion with Kevin Zeitler works. Maybe they sign both, but with their coffers running low and several roster holes left to fill, that now puts tons of pressure on the team to get the draft right at multiple positions.
I’m all for a healthy salary cap. But prioritizing it above everything else could ultimately prove to be this team’s downfall. By not investing in the appropriate pieces, they could be leaving meat on the bone. Digging through the leftovers of the free agency scraps with so many needs feels like a potential recipe for disaster.