Giants free agency rumor pinpoints unexpected interest in specific position group

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Mar 1, 2026 - 17:25

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Giants free agency rumor pinpoints unexpected interest in specific position group originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Going into the offseason, it was assumed that the New York Giants were set at running back.

Cam Skattebo had an impressive rookie year before suffering a brutal leg injury that ended his season early. However, Skattebo is expected to be ready to go by training camp, so there's currently not much concern about his status for Week 1 of 2026.

Behind Skattebo is Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary, the latter of whom is expected to be cut. Tracy is still under contract, though, and offers a perfect complement to Skattebo's power running style.

All that said, it appears Skattebo and Tracy aren't enough to keep the Giants from exploring the free-agent market for a running back.

According to Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com, the belief in league circles is New York is going to make a play for some of the top free-agent running backs.

"The Giants have a good situation with Skattebo and Tracy, but league sources at the Combine indicated that, behind the scenes, there's an expectation Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen will be open to the pursuit of productive running backs in free agency," Stapleton reported.

Stapleton goes on to speculate that Kenneth Walker, Tyler Allgeier and Travis Etienne could all be on the Giants' radar. He also mentioned David Montgomery, the Detroit Lions running back who reportedly "wants out" of Detroit.

Another name floated out there is Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who Stapleton believes is a possibility for Big Blue with the No. 5 pick.

"So why would John Harbaugh and Big Blue consider drafting Love, maybe as high as No. 5 overall?" Stapleton asked. "Because he's that good."

"There will be talk of smoke screens and legitimate interest in Love, and the debate lies somewhere in the middle," Stapleton added.

This is the second time in the span of a week that we've seen a rumor suggesting the Giants could have interest in at least some of those backs.

ESPN's Jordan Raanan reported New York is "seriously looking" at guys like Walker and Etienne in free agency, and Love in the draft.

"Something you hear about Giants at combine: They're seriously looking at some of the top running backs, both in draft + free agency," Raanan said. "Players like Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love, Travis Etienne and Kenneth Walker. There seems to be a clear focus on becoming a more physical run-heavy team."

While we do believe the Giants are legitimately interested in Love, they could also be putting that out there in order to entice teams to move up to their spot, which would help New York net more draft capital.

We'll have a much better idea what the Giants will do when it comes to Love after the first few waves of free agency. If the Giants make a significant signing at running back, drafting Love becomes highly unlikely.