You can practically feel the heat emanating from the New York Giants right now. And not in a good way. GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are under immense pressure to deliver a winner after years of stalled progress. The Saquon Barkley fiasco only worsened the optics around this team. If the Giants can't put up a fight in the NFC East this season, major organizational changes are on the horizon.
Among the priorities for this team is reestablishing the run game after Barkley's departure left the offense kneecapped a season ago. Malik Nabers is a superstar talent at wideout. Russell Wilson, for all his faults, is a definite upgrade over Daniel Jones, even if it's a somewhat underwhelming upgrade. New York has some pieces, but the run game needs to improve.
New York is relying on both internal and external growth. Tyrone Tracy Jr. broke through as a rookie. Now, fourth-round pick Cam Skattebo, a College Football Playoff hero, joins the fray as a surefire contributor. But what about the veteran, Devin Singletary? New York signed Singletary to lead the backfield a season ago, but now he could be trending toward missing the cut entirely.
Giants don't seem to need Devin Singletary anymore
Singletary is mentioned as a prime cut-trade candidate at Pro Football Network.
"(Skattebo's arrival) coupled with Tracy’s impressive rookie season, the Giants don’t have an obvious role for Singletary," writes Sterling Xie. "He’s never provided special teams value, playing 23 special teams snaps during the entirety of his six-year career. Singletary would only leave behind $4.75 million in dead money this year and $1.25 million next year if the Giants move on after June 1, which feels like a plausible outcome if they can’t salvage a minor trade return."
Singletary's $6.25 million salary is guaranteed for this season, so the Giants may be reluctant to cut him, but there's only so much space on the roster. This will ultimately come down to New York's faith in Skattebo. He is not your traditional high-profile running back prospect, but Skattebo is tremendously tough and skilled, doing a little bit of everything on the football field. As a secondary utility back behind the more twitchy Tyrone Tracy, he feels like a day-one impact rookie.
That leaves Singletary, 27, potentially in need of a new home. Last season was a mild disappointment for Singletary, who started in four straight weeks to begin the season before an injury gave Tracy the necessary runway to take over RB1 duties. Singletary's workload declined throughout the campaign and he finished averaging a career-worst 3.9 yards per carry, compared to Tracy's 4.4 yards.
New York may value Singletary's experience — he's been around a lot of winners over the years in Buffalo — but to be frank, the Giants cannot afford to get sentimental here. Singletary is, at best, the third-best running back on the roster and he offers very little to a team when he's not the primary option. Singletary is an adequate receiver, but he's not out there to pass block and he's a nonfactor with the special teams unit. There's no reason to keep him buried behind Tracy and Skattebo all season.
Schoen should be hitting the phones right now. If nothing materializes, don't be shocked if Singletary is out the door by the end of training camp.