Pro Football Rumors
Giants left guard Jon Runyan Jr. came up as a potential offseason cap casualty last fall. Not only has Runyan stayed put since then, but he remains atop the depth chart as training camp approaches. However, he may not be a lock to keep his roster spot.
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If Runyan struggles over the summer, his contract could make him a release or trade candidate, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic. Going either route would enable the Giants to escape the last season of Runyan’s three-year, $30MM deal without much damage. They would save $9.25MM in cap space at the cost of $2.5MM in dead money. The team currently has around $10.24MM in available spending room, per Over the Cap.
A six-year veteran who began his career with the Packers, Runyan became a full-time starter in his second season and hasn’t looked back. Giants general manager Joe Schoen was in charge when they brought Runyan over from Green Bay, though the executive has since lost power to new head coach John Harbaugh.
Notably, Harbaugh reunited with Daniel Faalele, one of his former Ravens guards, in free agency this past April. Faalele was a 17-game starter at right guard under Harbaugh in each of the previous two seasons in Baltimore. The 6-foot-8, 370-pounder settled for backup-caliber money ($1.4MM, including just $688K in guarantees), but Duggan notes there is an “outside chance” he will battle Runyan for the left guard job in camp. If that happens and Faalele performs well enough, the Giants may roll with the cheaper option. In the estimation of Pro Football Focus, Faalele was the better player last season. He finished as the site’s 51st-ranked guard out of 79 qualifiers. Runyan checked in at No. 65.
Elsewhere along Big Blue’s front five, center John Michael Schmitz‘s future is up in the air as he heads into a contract year. There hasn’t been any “word of extension talks,” Duggan writes. However, Duggan adds that the door may be open for a new Schmitz deal if he impresses the Harbaugh-led coaching staff. The former Minnesota standout has been a full-time starter since Schoen drafted him in the second round in 2023, though PFF has given Schmitz below-average marks each year. He ended his 13-game 2025 campaign as the site’s 27th-ranked center out of 37 qualifiers.
