Giants Release Najee Harris After Frustration Over Running Back Rotation

Giants release Najee Harris

Najee Harris has been released by the New York Giants following limited production and open frustration over the team’s running back timeshare. 

Najee Harris released by Giants after just 99 yards and public frustration...

The New York Giants are releasing running back Najee Harris, according to multiple reports including NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and team sources. The move comes just two months after the team signed the former Pro Bowl back to a one-year deal in mid-August, and it marks another chapter in the ongoing struggle to find a consistent identity in the Giants’ backfield.

Harris, 28, arrived in East Rutherford with a solid resume and high expectations. A first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021, he delivered four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons in Pittsburgh before a brief, injury-shortened stint with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2025. A torn Achilles limited him to just three games that year. When the Giants brought him in during the preseason releasing JuJu Smith-Schuster in a corresponding move head coach John Harbaugh praised the “decorated vet” and downhill runner who seemed to fit the physical style the team wanted.

Reality proved far less productive. Through five games in 2026, Harris managed only 99 rushing yards on 31 carries (a 3.2 yards-per-carry average) and one reception for five yards. He never seized a clear lead role in a crowded room that also featured Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr., and Devin Singletary.

The final straw appears to have been Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Harris started but was limited to four carries for two yards. After the game he voiced clear frustration with the multi-back rotation, calling it “extremely frustrating” and noting that running backs, like quarterbacks, need rhythm to diagnose defenses and make plays. “It’s hard to get into a rhythm with one or two runs,” he said. “If you’re getting a play here and you get taken out for a series, there’s nothing you can do.”

Harbaugh responded the next day by acknowledging the run game had been “not very good” and that no one had stepped up to claim the job. He said he would love a “Derrick Henry circumstance or a Saquon Barkley circumstance,” but added that the current group hadn’t earned it. His message was blunt: go take the job when you get the ball.

Harris won’t get another chance to do so in a Giants uniform. The team is moving forward with Skattebo, Tracy, and Singletary as the primary options.

It’s a sobering outcome for a player who once looked like a long-term feature back. Harris still has plenty of football left in him size, experience, and a proven track record as a workhorsebbut the combination of limited production, the lingering effects of last year’s Achilles injury, and public dissatisfaction with his role sealed his fate in New York.

Giants are releasing RB Najee Harris. (via @RapSheet) https://t.co/B0ubUEs3Gv

— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2026

For the Giants, the release is part of a broader attempt to clean up a backfield that has underperformed and create clearer roles. Whether the remaining trio can finally provide the consistent ground game Harbaugh wants remains the bigger question. 

For Harris, the next chapter will begin somewhere else, likely with another team looking for veteran depth and hoping the old Najee can still show up.

The NFL is a results business. When the carries don’t produce and the frustration boils over, even decorated vets can find themselves looking for a new home.