John Harbaugh has a new opportunity. The long-time coach of the Baltimore Ravens found himself out of a job when his former team failed to make the playoffs after a season in which Lamar Jackson was not healthy nor at his best when he was in the lineup. The Ravens came to the conclusion that Harbaugh had lost his grip with the team and team owner Stephen Bisciotti shook his hand and showed him the door.
If there was ever any doubt how about those in the professional football industry felt about Harbaugh, those questions were answered within minutes. As soon as word came out that Harbaugh was available, the phone calls started coming in. It was clear that Harbaugh would have his choice of places to coach.
As usual, he was decisive in his answer. Harbaugh chose the New York Giants even though New York has struggled for multiple seasons. The Giants have had eight losing seasons in the last 9 years, and there’s clearly plenty of work to do. They have some excellent talent at the skill positions and young quarterback Jaxson Dart is a player to build around, but Harbaugh has to create a new atmosphere in which players believe that winning is a legitimate possibility once again.
Harbaugh understands the keys to playing competitively
That is what the Giants are counting on because that is Harbaugh’s core strength. He can identify exactly what is needed for the Giants to become a winning team that can compete in the NFC East. That is likely to be a major challenge because the Philadelphia Eagles are likely to become a dominant team once again. The Washington Commanders could have a bounce-back season after last year’s injury-riddled season that saw them slip back to 5-12 after playing in the NFC Championship Game a year earlier.
Harbaugh is not a miracle worker, but the 2026 season should see a team that is much better than the 4-13 team that was on the field last year. There will be significant growth on defense and special teams, while a return to health of hard-nosed running back Cam Skattebo could be the key to transforming the offense into one of the more surprising units in the league.
There will be significant movement among the players and he is not going to keep ordinary or average players. Look for the Giants to part company with multiple players, and here’s a look at three players that the Giants will likely cut.
LB Bobby Okereke
Bobby Okereke is not an ordinary player. He led the Giants with 143 tackles and he also had 2 tackles for loss, 6 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. Okereke is a borderline Pro Bowl performer as he could have been named as a result of his performance this season. He has 7 years of NFL experience since being drafted in the third round by the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 out of Stanford, and he has been a player that both the Colts and Giants could count on to post.
Okereke has played in the full complement of 17 games in 4 of the last 5 seasons, including last year. At 6-2 and 235 pounds, Okereke is not a big man for his position, but he can cover tight ends and running backs in addition to making stops in the running game.
The problem with Okereke is that he comes with a big cap hit next season. The Giants are scheduled to pay him $5.8 million in base salary along with his prorated signing bonus of $3 million. He also has a huge cap hit of $14.46 million and Harbaugh knows the Giants will have better use for that money than keeping Okereke in the fold.
DE Roy Robertson-Harris
Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
The Giants need impact players on defense, and Robertson-Harris does not fit that description. The defensive end played and started all 17 games, but he did not come up with one sack. He had 3 tackles for loss, 1 pass defensed and 35 tackles. Robertson-Harris can play the run, but he is not much of a factor when it comes to rushing the passer.
Nevertheless, he has played nine years in the league, including 4 with the Bears, 4 with the Jaguars and 1 with the Seahawks before playing last season with the Giants.
Robertson-Harris has a cap hit of $5.75 million last season and the money can be better spent elsewhere because he is not an impact player.
RB Devin Singletary
The Giants are apparently counting on Skattebo returning to health and Tyrone Tracy getting the job done at the running back slot. They are also likely to add to that position in the NFL with a mid- to late-round draft pick. It will be very difficult for Devin Singletary to remain with the team.
He rushed for 437 yards and averaged just 3.7 yards per carry last season. He had just 2 rushing plays of 20 yards or more but he did score 5 touchdowns.
Singletary’s ordinary play almost certainly means that that the Giants will part company with him. He is scheduled to have a cap hit of $6.5 million next year, and the Giants can clearly make better use of that money.
The post 3 Giants cut candidates entering 2026 offseason appeared first on ClutchPoints.
