Heading into the regular season, Jon Runyan was seen as a potential weak spot on the New York Giants' offensive line. He had held down the starting left guard spot for two years, but his play had left something to be desired since joining Big Blue.
Then, the Giants gave him a two-year, $22 million contract extension. It almost flew under the radar, coming just days before the start of the regular season. The deal made him the 24th-highest-paid guard in the NFL.
Through two games, Runyan hasn't come anywhere close to living up to his contract value for the Giants.
Jon Runyan's Giants contract is already looking like a costly mistake
There are a few reasons that teams would sign a player to an extension immediately before the start of the season. The player could have already proven his worth, be in the middle of a holdout, or be on the verge of a breakout.
None of those situations were true of Runyan heading into this season. His play has been passable at best over the last two years. Per PFF, he allowed 60 pressures between 2024 and 2025. That's just one fewer than Greg Van Roten, who led the team in pressures allowed over that stretch.
His run-blocking hasn't been exceptional, either. Runyan is more agile than powerful and doesn't quite suit the downhill style of offense that John Harbaugh's teams typically lean on.
So far this season, Runyan has allowed pressure on 4.4% of his pass-blocking snaps, which would be the worst rate of his career. He was the weak link up front in the win over the Dallas Cowboys and failed to bounce back against the Los Angeles Rams.
While PFF grades often don't paint an accurate picture, especially for offensive linemen, Runyan's overall offensive grade is just 40.9 this year. That's the seventh-worst grade of any offensive lineman in the NFL through two weeks.
The 29-year-old is getting paid to be an above-average starter at guard. So far this season, he hasn't come close to reaching that mark.
A $22 million contract over two years isn't going to tank the Giants' financial flexibility moving forward, but it's just one example of a mishandled negotiation by general manager Joe Schoen. New York would have been much better off waiting until the midpoint or end of the season, when Runyan would have already shown how he fits into this new offensive system.
Instead, they're stuck with another overpriced contract.
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