Recent reports have linked pending free agents Tyler Linderbaum and Kenneth Walker III to the Giants, but an aggressive pursuit may be unlikely in both cases. Linderbaum and Walker are now out of the Giants’ price range, sources told Connor Hughes of SNY. For a team with $14.28MM in cap space, winning a bidding war for Linderbaum or Walker would be a challenge.
As the Ravens’ center since entering the NFL in 2022, Linderbaum has only played for head coach John Harbaugh during his four-year career. However, it does not appear their partnership will continue with the Giants in 2026.
Linderbaum, a three-time Pro Bowler and PFR’s top-ranked pending free agent, is poised to surpass the Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey as the game’s highest-paid center. Humphrey inked a four-year, $72MM contract with over $50MM in guarantees in 2024.
If the Giants want to upgrade over starting center John Michael Schmitz, established free agent choices are dwindling. Connor McGovern (Bills) and Tyler Biadasz (Chargers) have come off the market over the past couple of days. Cade Mays, Ethan Pocic and Lloyd Cushenberry are a few of the experienced names left.
Riding the momentum of a Super Bowl LX MVP win with the Seahawks, Walker will be the prize among free agent running backs this offseason. Five-year Jaguar Travis Etienne will not be cheap, but he will be more affordable for the Giants and other teams that lose out on Walker. The Giants are reportedly interested in Etienne. Rico Dowdle, Tyler Allgeier, Rachaad White and Kenneth Gainwell are in the next tier of unsigned veterans. It’s unclear whether the Giants will go after any of them. The team kept veteran Devin Singletary around for a pay cut on Sunday. New York also has Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy under contract for 2026.
Along with their interior offensive line, cornerback and linebacker are among positions the Giants will prioritize, according to Hughes, who points to Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean as a name to watch. The Bucs are expected to move on from Dean after a seven-year run in which he mostly worked as a full-time starter. Dean, 29, is heading for the market after intercepting a career-high three passes in 14 games last season. He could replace pending free agent corner Cordale Flott in New York.
Why would Kenneth Walker be linked to the Giants? Skat, Tracy, and Singletary already on the roster. I don’t see them pursuing any of the names mentioned in this article, either. Far too many holes on the roster to spend anything on a running back when they already have three. Injury concern with Skattebo but nonsensical to even mention RBs, if you ask me. Could draft a late round RB if they’re that worried.
Skat is coming off a catastrophic injury. Teams are always looking for upgrades. Tracy is average at best and Singletary is not good anymore
Skat will be back, Tracy is better than average, and Singletary is a fine RB3. There is absolutely no reason to spend on a free agent RB when they have more glaring positional needs. They’re likely losing Wan’Dale, need to retain Elumenour, need to add to the OL, need a middle lineback, need safeties, need a CB, need a kicker. Running back should be one of the last positions they’re looking to use cap space on.
Skat showed he could be the RB of the future but after that injury, he could face a down year as he works to get back to 100%. Tracy will need help and I don’t trust Singletary to be able.to handle that. So you basically have 3 options. Trade, free agency or draft. With the Giants current cap situation and needs, the obvious avenue is draft a young back in the mid rounds and hope he can help early in the season til Skat is able to take on more of a workload. If the back doesn’t pan out there will be plenty of veterans available to sort through that get cut by other teams at the end of pre season. The Giants aren’t gonna fix all their roster issues this off season and RB shouldn’t be a big priority.
Can’t be worried about injuries to Skattebo. Obviously a gruesome injury last year, but he is generally impervious to pain and immune to concussions.
Oh is that how it works lol
If thats sarcasm then legit lol, my bad
The Giants dream about being able to burn through money like the Yankees and Mets 🙂