Najee Harris arrived at his first New York Giants practice with a message. Everything he did before now is in the past. Whatever he does going forward is what actually matters.
The Giants signed Harris on Tuesday after hosting him for a workout on Monday, and the veteran running back was not shy about how he plans to approach the 2026 season.
“I have a lot to prove,” Harris said. “As somebody who’s coming back from a torn Achilles, really everything that I did in the past is in the past. Everything I do now is really what matters.”
The Setup
Harris is coming off the worst year of his career, and it was not a football-only story. The former first-round pick signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2025 offseason and immediately got hurt in a Fourth of July fireworks accident that cost him practice time.
He played three regular-season games before tearing his Achilles on September 21 against the Denver Broncos. Season over. Career reset.
Pittsburgh drafted Harris at No. 24 overall in 2021 after his Alabama career, and he delivered four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the Steelers along with a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie. That is the version of Harris the Giants are hoping resurfaces.
Why the Giants Made the Move
New York already has 2025 first-round pick Cam Skattebo in the room, but Skattebo is a rookie coming off a torn ACL of his own. The Giants need veteran insurance and downhill juice. Harris, on a one-year deal, checks both boxes.
Harris at 100 percent is a between-the-tackles hammer who catches passes out of the backfield and does not fumble. He is not going to make anyone forget Saquon Barkley. He does not need to. He needs to be a reliable pro who lets Skattebo learn behind him and takes some of the workload off Malik Nabers and Daniel Jones’ successor.
The Achilles Question
Achilles injuries used to be career-enders. They are not anymore, and running backs specifically have been coming back well from them in recent years. Harris was training for months before the workout, and the Giants would not have signed him unless they liked what they saw on film in that session.
He is 28 years old. Athletic testing is still on his side. The touch count from four straight 1,000-yard seasons is high, but Harris takes care of his body.
What He’s Really Playing For
The line about proving himself is not just motivational quote candy. Harris is on a one-year deal in the last real window of his career to sign one more meaningful contract. If he plays well, he re-enters free agency next spring with leverage.
If he does not, that is probably the last big-money running back deal he ever sees.
Harris knows the math. That is why the tone in his first Giants press conference was chip-on-shoulder and not victory lap. He should be a plug-and-play answer for New York early in the season, and by December we will know whether he has real value left in this league.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
