If we're operating in the trust tree, Devin Singletary was never going to come close to filling the Saquon Barkley-sized void for the New York Giants when they signed him to a three-year, $16.5 million deal in 2024. To be fair, he wasn't supposed to.
But he also wasn’t necessarily supposed to end up at the bottom of the depth chart two years in, either. Yet, that’s where the 28-year-old found himself when the dust settled on the 2025 season, making him look like an obvious cut candidate heading into free agency.
Well, color me surprised because I did not see this coming. Instead, as reported by Jordan Schultz, the Giants and Singletary agreed to a restructured contract to keep the veteran running back in New York:
Sources: The #Giants and RB Devin Singletary have agreed to a restructured contract to keep him in New York.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 6, 2026
‘Motor’ has 1,144 total yards and 9 TDs with the Giants, and both sides wanted to keep the relationship going with new HC John Harbaugh. pic.twitter.com/ikRKLTNsT5
Talk about a pretty shocking 180, with Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. occupying most of the touches, Singletary appeared to be an easy cap casualty. Instead, the Giants lowered his $5 million base salary (likely with bonuses) and kept him around on a cheaper deal.
Giants move on from Devin Singletary as Harbaugh reshapes run game
In two years with the G-Men, the former Florida Atlantic standout had 232 carries for 874 yards and nine scores, adding 39 receptions for 270 yards through the air. In hindsight, paying $10 million for 1,144 yards of total offense, roughly $1 million per 100 yards, just wasn't the right value.
Singletary was also very much a product of the Brian Daboll era. After spending three seasons together in Buffalo while Daboll was the offensive coordinator (2019-2021), he followed him to New York in 2024, with a stint in Houston in between.
The restructure also comes on the heels of some interesting offseason chatter surrounding the Giants and their ground game. According to multiple reports, new head coach John Harbaugh has been looking into making a splash addition in the backfield to round out the room with Skattebo and Tracy Jr.
Related: Breece Hall’s franchise tag throws a $14M wrench in Giants’ fever dream
Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love has generated plenty of draft buzz around the Giants, while Seahawks Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker and Jaguars running back Travis Etienne have been floated as possible free-agent options.
Keeping Singletary around suddenly changes that narrative a bit. It never made much sense to me anyway.
With the veteran now staying put alongside Skatt and Tracy Jr., a big-money addition feels a lot less likely, and the idea of spending the fifth overall pick on someone like Love may have taken a hit, too. Then again, for weeks I thought the G-Men were going to cut Singletary and save $5.25 million in cap space, yet here he is. You just never know.