Duggan: Tyrone Tracy’s role ‘undefined’

We can’t endorse relying on anyone in this backfield as a surefire bellcow in the event that Cam Skattebo gets hurt or is ineffective enough to lose playing time. It seems like it will be hard to rely on Tracy to have a major role this year with Harris in town.

Tracy left Friday’s preseason game against the Jets with an apparent injury in the second quarter. The Giants announced Tracy was evaluated for a concussion, but was able to clear concussion protocol. Before leaving the game, Tracy had 37 yards and a touchdown on four carries. He doesn’t carry much standalone fantasy value in a crowded Giants backfield that also includes Cam Skattebo, Najee Harris and Devin Singletary.

Tracy went down after an eight-yard run late in the second quarter. After he was on the ground for a while, Tracy headed to the locker room with a trainer. While the nature of his injury remains unclear, Tracy was an effective runner against the Jets with 37 yards and a touchdown on four carries.

It’s worth noting that Cam Skattebo continues to be the first running back up in practice, but it sounds like the Giants could have a vision for Harris, who signed with the team on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, per Raanan. Harris is returning from a torn Achilles that ended his 2025 season in Week 3, but there’s plenty of room for him to earn snaps behind Skattebo once he gets up to speed. A blown pass-blocking assignment by Tyrone Tracy in the team’s first preseason game against the Vikings raised immediate questions about whether or not the Giants will trust Tracy in pass-blocking situations this season, and Harris has proven to be a capable pass-blocker in the past. At this point, it’s hard to imagine Harris having any standalone fantasy value in a healthy Giants backfield, but he could be worth a handcuff to Skattebo in deeper leagues based on these latest reports.

Coming off a serious leg injury that ended his 2025 season in November, Skattebo has fared well in offseason practices and training camp, claiming he’s fully healed from his leg break. For now he’s listed as a co-RB1 alongside Tracy, who was up and down as the Giants’ lead back last season after Skattebo went down to injury. Devin Singletary listed as the lone RB2 likely means Tracy would get first crack at lead back duties if Skattebo misses any time in 2026. Tracy will be worth rostering in most 12-team formats.

It’s a sneaky way that Tracy could cut into Cam Skattebo’s workload. Duggan went as far as to say it “figures to be a time share, with Skattebo the 1-A and Tracy the 1-B,” and while we wouldn’t go quite that far with Skattebo being the lead back in most other drills and being anointed the starter for most of camp, it does cut Skattebo’s value just a smidge.

According to Hughes, Skattebo is “the first up in almost every running drill,” and he has also handled the majority of carries in practice. While it’s certainly an encouraging sign for Skattebo’s usage, Hughes also notes that the preferred options in the passing game are Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary. If the Giants were to dial back Skattebo’s role in the receiving game, it could deal a bit of a blow to his fantasy stock. He was on a 17-game pace to catch 51 passes last season, and his work in the passing game made up 43.7 percent of his fantasy scoring in PPR leagues last year. Skattebo’s role as an early-down grinder and goal-line back should be more than enough to satisfy fantasy managers this season, but a reduced role in the passing game would put a bit of a cap on his ceiling.

Duggan buried this thought in a lengthy social media post last Wednesday. He says Giants RBs Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy “are fine,” but notes that the front office was “open to upgrading to a premier back,” referring to Cardinals rookie RB Jeremiyah Love. Duggan “could see a vet signing,” like free agent RB Najee Harris (Achilles) once he is healthy, “or a trade.” A veteran like Harris would slide into the RB3 role, and might occasionally steal enough touches to hurt Skattebo’s weekly ceiling outcomes. A premier back would have a much larger impact, but a player like that would obviously be much harder to acquire at this point. That outcome seems far less likely at this point, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants added another name to the backfield.

Skattebo during a Monday town hall event said he is still learning to trust his surgically repaired ankle and conceded he’s “a little ways out” from a full recovery from a horrific lower leg injury last October. “Obviously there’s ups and downs in the injury process and coming back and rehabbing, but the mental battle has been the hardest part: making sure that I trust it fully,” Skattebo said. Look for the Giants to ease the second-year back into action this summer as he recovers from his ankle injury. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Skattebo sees a limited snap share to begin the regular season, leaving Tyrone Tracy as the Giants’ presumptive lead back, with Devin Singletary sprinkled in. Skattebo in 2025 ranked 27th out of 55 qualifying backs in rush yards after contact per carry, just behind Tony Pollard. The Athletic’s Dan Duggan said in February that Giants head coach John Harbaugh “figures to encourage a more ground-based attack” in 2026.

Tracy caught eight of his nine targets in the passing game en route to 159 total yards on the day. It was a strong effort for the second-year pro, who looked explosive in space against an admittedly disinterested Dallas defense. He finishes the season with 176 carries for 740 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games (11 starts) after splitting the backfield with Cam Skattebo and then taking over after Skattebo was lost for the season. Tracy, who was a receiver in college, added 36 catches on 48 targets for 288 receiving yards and two additional touchdowns. He also lost his first fumble of the season. It remains to be seen how the Giants will split up the backfield next season under a new head coach, but Tracy figures to be behind Skattebo if Skattebo is healthy.