When the New York Giants brought in new head coach John Harbaugh every player in the locker room must’ve known a new regime means roster turnover. With the 2026 season being Harbaugh’s first opportunity to turn a woeful franchise back into a contender, loyalty goes out the window and hard decisions have to be made.
In order to whittle the roster down to 53 players for the regular season, Harbaugh will make recommendations to general manager Joe Schoen as to which guys just didn’t reach his standard. That means time is nearly up for a few players currently gracing New York’s depth chart unless they make massive strides during organized team activities (OTAs). Let’s identify a few who are clearly on cut watch.
WR Jalin Hyatt
New York hasn’t seemed to be able to shake the ghosts of Kenny Golladay and Golden Tate from its receiver room. After making it through the last two seasons with a cobbled-together corps led by Malik Nabers, management finally went out and brought in a slew of quality options for second-year QB Jaxson Dart to play with. Those included Calvin Austin III, Darnell Mooney, third-round draft pick Malachi Fields and tight end Isaiah Likely.
Drafted 73rd overall by the Giants in 2023 out of Tennessee, Jalin Hyatt simply has not been given the proper opportunity to cement himself a role in the offense. He was only targeted 59 times across his first two seasons despite a 4.40-second 40-yard dash time and peaking at 24.29 miles per hour at the scouting combine. That was mostly a symptom of some internal issue between him and then-head coach Brian Daboll because Hyatt was seemingly frozen out in 2025, only appearing in eight games and receiving 14 targets — and that was with Nabers out for the year.
Now that Harbaugh is in charge, Hyatt needs to immediately prove he’s more valuable an asset on offense than anyone else brought in this offseason. That’s a tall order considering Harbaugh had heavy input on those acquisitions and the drafting of Fields. There are just too many names for him to beat out so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hyatt among some of the first cuts this summer — not because he’s bad but because Harbaugh will realize he deserves a better opportunity elsewhere in the league.
RB Eric Gray
Remember when draft rumors were sky-high about the Giants taking Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love at No. 5 overall? Well, the Arizona Cardinals did New York a favor and took him off the board two picks early so that Harbaugh and Schoen weren’t having to sort out a five-man logjam at the position.
Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. are the clear top tandem for the Giants offense entering 2026 with the former looking to bounce back from a gnarly ankle injury. The team restructured Devin Singletary’s contract in order to give him a shot at retaining the RB3 spot (though if you ask me, it was in preparation to demote him to the practice squad if the team was so lucky to nab Love). That leaves Eric Gray, a 2023 fifth-round selection with just 79 career rushing yards to his name, as the likely odd man out.
With a bell cow duo already cemented in Skattebo and Tracy, plus an experienced insurance option in Singletary, the Giants will view Gray as expendable. Harbaugh looks to be prioritizing depth at the receiver position and opening up a spot by sending Gray to the practice squad or the open market will give New York the ability to keep an additional pass catcher in reserve. It’s nothing personal, it’s just good business.
K Jason Sanders, Ben Sauls or Dominic Zvada
For the football sickos out there, New York’s kicker battle this summer is going to be one for the ages. After releasing Graham Gano, Schoen brought in former Dolphins placekicker Jason Sanders, retained late-2025 standout Ben Sauls and signed rookie Dominic Zvada. I wish training camps were broadcast somewhere because the kind of competition these three will put up is about to be legendary.
Sanders, an eight-year veteran who missed the 2025 campaign with a hip injury, had a stellar 2024 campaign for the Miami Dolphins. The 30-year-old converted 90.2 percent of his field goal attempts (37-of-41) and missed just two extra points. He’s the clear favorite entering camp based on experience alone.
Sauls stepped up for the Giants during last season when Gano was sidelined with injury. He was perfect, going eight-for-eight on field goals and seven-for-seven on extra points. While it’s a small sample size, consistency is the key to job security in the NFL. Sauls will be pushing Sanders hard and trying to prove to Harbaugh he should choose youth and potential over the veteran.
And then there’s the rookie. Zvada was widely seen as the best kicker available in the 2026 draft class yet he didn’t hear his name called in Pittsburgh. That will only add more fuel to his fire as he arrives in New York. Zvada suffered one of the worst campaigns in his college career in 2025 but everyone has a down year. His 2024 where he hit all but one field goal and extra point each is more representative of his abilities.
All that said, the team is probably only going to keep one of them around on the active roster. My money is on Sauls if he continues to demonstrate a consistency that could take New York’s special teams abilities to Brandon Aubrey or Cam Little levels.
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