The New York Giants have done well to shore up their roster despite the tall task that general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll faced back in January, and that could mean a few veteran cuts are on the horizon after training camp.
Following the 2025 NFL Draft, perhaps the most likely cap casualty is running back Devin Singletary — who was a staff favorite of Daboll’s back in Buffalo.
The Pro Football Network team of writers explained why they feel Singletary’s eventual release is a “plausible outcome” in a document that was shared with Heavy on Giants.
Giants’ Cam Skattebo Draft Selection Could Oust Devin Singletary, Who Is Without an ‘Obvious Role’ in 2025
“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,” Pro Football Network began.
Continuing: “Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. surpassed Singletary on the depth chart, leaving the veteran in a tenuous spot after a career-low 437 rushing yards. Now, Singletary’s place on the team looks even shakier after the Giants picked Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo in the fourth round.”
Pro Football Network did go on to acknowledge “questions” on whether or not Skattebo’s game will “hold up” at the NFL level. His lack of long speed had been talked about pre-draft, for example, as well as his contact-heavy approach that could face new challenges against bigger and stronger tacklers.
However, with all that in mind, Pro Football Network noted that “Skattebo comes as a polished prospect who can contribute right away on all three downs” — which is another negative for Singletary.
“Coupled with Tracy’s impressive rookie season, the Giants don’t have an obvious role for Singletary,” the NFL analysis site concluded. “He’s never provided special teams value, playing 23 special teams snaps during the entirety of his six-year career. [And] 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.”
More on Devin Singletary’s Contract Details
The Giants handed Singletary a three-year deal after letting Barkley walk — which seemed a little curious at the time, considering his age, but also steadied the running back room last offseason.
That contract guaranteed $9.5 million and had a total value of $16.5 million ($5.5 million per year). It also pretty much guaranteed that Singletary would at least make it to mandatory minicamp, and most likely training camp, in 2025.
As Pro Football Network stated, the Giants cannot save any real money by cutting Singletary prior to June 1 of 2025. Any release before that date would cost them $6 million in dead money, while only saving $250,000.
After June 1, the Giants can save slightly more, at exactly $1.5 million in savings.
Granted, that’s not a lot of cap space, but if Singletary is trending towards RB3 after training camp and the preseason, it could make sense for Big Blue to recoup some money for any in-season additions that the roster might require.
If Singletary does somehow survive being traded or cut this offseason, let’s say Skattebo isn’t ready or they suffer an injury at running back. Or maybe the Giants just elect to retain their depth at the position rather than save $1.5 million in cap space.
At that point, he’d pretty much turn into a guaranteed pre-free agency roster cut in 2026. And that’s simply due to the amount of cap space ($5.25 million) that NYG would save by releasing him next February or March.
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