What exactly were the New York Giants thinking here?
Remember earlier this offseason when Jon Runyan Jr. was floated as a potential cut candidate for the New York Giants?
Well, not only did the Giants not cut him, but they just handed him a two-year, $22 million contract extension as he was about to head into the final year of his deal. But wait, there's more: $21.5 million of that money is guaranteed.
Uh, what?
Look, Runyan isn't terrible. He isn't bad. But he isn't good either.
New York initially signed Runyan to a three-year, $30 million pact in March 2024, hoping that the former Green Bay Packers lineman would held stabilize the Giants' interior.
Unfortunately, that has not happened. Runyan has been a massive disappointment over his first couple of seasons in the Big Apple, so much so that New York actually signed Daniel Faalele to compete with him for the starting left guard job earlier this offseason. Faalele was then subsequently traded.
Heck, there were even some who felt that Evan Neal could potentially dethrone Runyan for the starting job.
That wasn't just a result of fans or media pundits overreacting; Runyan has been pedestrian at best over his first two seasons with the Giants, and John Harbaugh has never been one to settle for mediocrity.
Just about all of the moves Harbaugh has made in tandem with Joe Schoen this offseason have been good to great, and New York is in a pretty solid position heading into 2026 as a result. Do I think the Giants are a playoff team? No, but they certainly look improved.
The Runyan extension, however, is puzzling.
I understand that no one on the roster was able to legitimately challenge him in camp, but are we saying that there is no one New York can replace him with next offseason? No free agents? No one in the 2027 NFL Draft?
Guard is not as important of a position as tackle, so if Runyan ends up being the weak link in the trenches, it isn't a huge deal. But it's still something, and you would figure that while Harbaugh might be amenable to playing out 2026 with Runyan at left guard, he would be prepared to seek a better option after the campaign.
But apparently, Harbaugh felt comfortable enough to essentially guarantee Runyan a roster spot through 2028 and eat up some valuable cap space in the process.
I'm puzzled, to say the least.
