What exactly are the New York Giants doing here?
The New York Giants' defensive tackle situation was a problem before they dealt Dexter Lawrence. After the trade, it became an overwhelming mess.
To make matters worse, the Giants watched as the Houston Texans traded up to snatch Ohio State star Kayden McDonald one pick ahead of them at No. 36 overall in the NFL Draft, and New York waited until the sixth round to finally pull the trigger on an interior defender, nabbing Auburn's Bobby Jamison-Travis.
Jamison-Travis is a decent prospect with some potential, but there is no way on God's green earth that the Giants can head into 2026 with Jamison-Travis and Darius Alexander as their two starting defensive tackles.
It seemed pretty clear that New York planned on making at least one free-agent addition to address the position, and with Calais Campbell and DJ Reader both available, the Giants had a couple of good options.
Campbell was clearly the best candidate on the board, but it does not appear that New York is going that route.
In fact, on Wednesday, the Giants agreed to sign Shelby Harris to a one-year contract, and Dan Duggan of The Athletic has reported that Reader could be next.
Calais Campbell. Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images.I like the idea of bringing in Reader considering he has always been a terrific run stuffer, even if he has definitely declined the past couple of seasons.
But why the disdain for Campbell?
Campbell is a six-time Pro Bowler who played for John Harbaugh in Baltimore from 2020 through 2022. Yes, he's 39 years old, but he registered 43 tackles and 6.5 sacks with the Arizona Cardinals this past season. He can still play at a high level, and for some reason, New York is completely ignoring him.
It can't be the money, because Campbell made just $5.5 million with the Cardinals in 2025 and is still out there on the open market. Surely, he would sign a one-year deal for something similar.
Perhaps the University of Miami product is weighing retirement, but you would think the Giants would have at least checked in on him, right?
Instead, Harbaugh and Co. have gone in a different direction entirely, which is both frustrating and strange.
At this point, New York better sign Reader, because if it plans on going into 2026 with Harris as its top defensive tackle, it's going to have a whole lot of problems defensively.
It's just a shame Campbell likely isn't coming aboard.
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