The New York Giants have been dealing with a bit of a conundrum at the running back position. Their initial 53-man roster saw them keep four RBs (plus fullback Pat Ricard) entering Week 1, but the Sunday Night victory over the Dallas Cowboys may have given them a better idea of how to handle the position moving forward.
The 28-20 win saw a healthy Cam Skattebo operate as the feature back, Najee Harris be a healthy inactive, and Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy rotate in because John Harbaugh loves a three-back rotation--but unfortunately for Tracy, he played his way even further into this staff's doghouse.
The third-year back didn't see the field much, and even the moments he did weren't very bright. He carried the ball just twice for 14 yards, but he also lost a fumble--so the issue that's plagued him throughout his career (and especially during training camp) is very much still there.
Tyrone Tracy’s fumbling problems are becoming impossible for the Giants to ignore
Tracy Jr.'s fumble came at a wildly inopportune time as well. Just before the two-minute warning, New York was driving in field goal range--and were even nearing the red zone. And on the final play before the timeout, he coughed up the football, which could've been costly.
Thankfully, he got lucky. Jevon Holland picked off Dak Prescott a few plays later, and the Giants added a touchdown before half.
Meanwhile, Skattebo and Singletary both reached the end zone and did more to directly impact a Big Blue victory. They both deserve to be involved in the rotation, but given that these fumbling issues have no end in sight, Harbaugh would be better off siphoning some of Tracy’s snaps in Harris’ direction.
The 27-year-old was being talked about as a possible trade or cut candidate a few weeks ago, but the Giants opted to keep him around. His biggest selling point this summer was his ability to make defenders miss and catch passes out of the backfield, yet that receiving ability wasn’t even part of the equation Sunday night.
For all of the big plans the G-Men had for the Purdue product, it doesn't exactly make sense to keep playing him. Both Skatt and Singletary were more productive, and Najee Harris is a better pass-blocker and less fumble-prone, so either make Tracy a healthy inactive or move on.
The ideal scenario is finding a trade partner for Tracy, but it remains to be seen if there's enough interest in the RB market for the Giants to consider pulling the rip-cord. If Joe Schoen can get a late Day 3 pick like for Joshua Ezeudu or Daniel Faalele, that should ideally be enough to end this experiment.
The New York Giants want to see Tyrone Tracy Jr. become a key piece of their backfield again, but if they're not going to extend him, the win over the Dallas Cowboys all but confirmed they no longer have room for him.
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