Big Blue View
Veteran running back suggested as potential cut or trade candidate
Tyrone Tracy took away Devin Singletary’s job as the New York Giants’ No. 1 running back last season, leading the team in rushing as a rookie despite barely playing in the first four games.
The Giants added the unique Cam Skattebo in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft as a powerful complement to Tracy.
Where does that leave Singletary? Pro Football Network believes it could lead Singletary, who will be 28 in his seventh NFL season, as a trade or cut candidate. PFN writes:
Signed to be the stopgap starter after Saquon Barkley’s departure, Devin Singletary never got off the ground in his first season with the New York Giants. Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. surpassed Singletary on the depth chart, leaving the veteran in a tenuous spot after a career-low 437 rushing yards.
Singletary’s place on the team looks even shakier after the Giants picked Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo in the fourth round. While there are questions about his long speed and if his bull-in-a-china-shop play style will hold up against NFL defenders, Skattebo comes as a polished prospect who can contribute right away on all three downs.
Coupled with Tracy’s impressive rookie season, the Giants don’t have an obvious role for Singletary. 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.
Moving on from Singletary if Skattebo and Tracy are going to be the primary backs is a possibility, but there are also reasons it might not happen.
First, Singletary is still a better, more proven and more reliable option than Eric Gray, Dante Miller or any other undrafted free agent back the Giants may look at this spring and summer.
Second, while PFN is correct that the Giants would have $4.75 million in dead money for 2025 should Singletary be a post-June 1 cut or trade that ignores the fact that the cap savings from moving on would be only $1.5 million. So, financially moving on does not necessarily make sense. The Giants would still owe Singletary far more money than they would save.
Third, GM Joe Schoen has said this offseason that he would like every position group to include veteran leadership. If the Giants cut or trade Singletary, the longest-tenured back they would have is Gray, entering Year 3.
Maybe Singletary would be unhappy and would request to leave should it be clear that he will enter the season as RB3. In that case, moving on might be best. If he is willing to stay, compete and mentor younger backs the roster — as currently constructed — is better with him than without him.
