The New York Giants just booted the back who started Sunday’s game, Najee Harris, from the team. This move comes mere days after the veteran voiced some serious frustration over his limited role and the crowded backfield rotation the Giants are running with. It’s wild to see a “starter” get cut so quickly after a game, but when you look at how things played out, maybe it’s not that surprising.
Harris’s Frustration Boiled Over After Week 6 Disaster
Harris, who only signed with the Giants back in August, rushed 31 times for 99 yards across five games played. Not exactly tearing it up, but then came Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints. He got the “start” in that matchup, but it was basically a phantom start, with Harris only getting four carries for a measly two yards. Two yards! Meanwhile, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who didn’t even come in until the fourth quarter, ended up leading the Giants in rushing with 26 yards on just two attempts. Tyrone Tracy Jr. got six carries for 18 yards and a touchdown, Devin Singletary had four for 14, and Cam Skattebo didn’t even get a single rushing attempt.
After the game, Harris didn’t hold back. He criticized the Giants’ running back rotation, saying it made it impossible for anyone to find a rhythm. “It’s hard to get in a rhythm with one or two plays,” Harris told The Trentonian. “The first couple runs will be like, ‘OK, how are they playing it?’ And then the next ones will be, ‘OK, this is how you attack it.’ But if you’re getting a play here and then get taken out for a series, there’s nothing you could do. That’s why I’m saying, ‘I don’t know.’ I’ve never been through none of this before.”
Coach Harbaugh’s Reality Check and the Run Game’s Ongoing Struggles
Coach Harbaugh was asked Monday if he understood Harris’s frustration, and he said he did, respecting it. But then he laid down the law: playing time has to be earned. “I would love for us to be in that kind of a circumstance,” Harbaugh said, referencing a “Derrick Henry circumstance or a Saquon Barkley circumstance.” He admitted that the Giants’ “run game hasn’t earned that yet, and none of those guys have.” His advice to all players, not just the backs, was pretty clear: “do the most you can with the opportunities you get. Make the most of those opportunities and you’re sure to get more opportunities. You know? Do something.”
It’s a tough situation for the Giants’ run game. Cam Skattebo, despite leading the team on the season with 294 yards and one touchdown on 81 carries, barely saw the field in Week 6 with just six snaps and zero touches. That’s after he lost a key fumble in overtime during their Week 5 tie with the Washington Commanders. Skattebo himself said after the Saints game, “I didn’t expect to have zero. I was expecting to not play as much just like I did. The message was to keep your head down and keep going.”
So what’s next? The Giants are likely bringing in another running back soon. But maybe, just maybe, Harbaugh gives Skattebo another shot in Week 7 when they face the Houston Texans. Someone has to step up, because right now, this backfield is a total question mark.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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