The New York Giants released veteran kicker Graham Gano this week and saved about $4.5-million on the cap. The move was expected after New York signed Jason Sanders earlier this month. New York is not flush with cap space, but there are still decisions that could create space in the immediate. The roster is taking shape around head coach John Harbaugh’s vision, but there are still key spots that need to be upgraded. With the draft less than a month away, New York may not be done with free agency.
Here are three names to consider.
Calais Campbell, IDL
Not to beat this dead horse — but I will until the option is exhausted — but Calais Campbell would be an ideal signing for the New York Giants. The almost 40-year-old is 6-foot-8, 285 pounds, and is coming off a 33-pressure season where he recorded 24 STOPS in 524 snaps. He’s still highly productive on a per-snap basis, and he would be an excellent fit in BASE personnel as a 4i-shade next to Dexter Lawrence.
Campbell is a widely respected veteran who has been in the league since 2008. He spent three seasons with John Harbaugh (2020-2022) in Baltimore. The Giants are a young team, and one issue that has hampered them through the previous coaching staff was leadership. Campbell, at the very least, would provide the level of professionalism that Harbaugh will instill, while also being an asset that young players can look up to — literally and figuratively.
Campbell signed a one-year contract worth $5.5 million with a maximum value of $7.5 million with incentives to return to Arizona last year. The Giants should certainly replicate that contract if Campbell is interested in reuniting with Harbaugh to quickly turn around the revered New York Giants franchise.
Shelby Harris, IDL
Harris spent the last three seasons in Cleveland, where he averaged 500 snaps a season. Harris is a solid overall run defender with pass-rushing upside. He recorded 62 pressures in his three seasons with the Browns. Prior to Cleveland, he spent time in Seattle, Denver, and with the Raiders. Harris is a 6-3, 300-pound 34-year-old who was drafted in 2014 out of Illinois State.
He has not shown signs of slowing down, and he would be a quality veteran addition next to Dexter Lawrence, Darius Alexander, and Roy Robertson-Harris. He had 58 STOPs over the last three seasons as well. He is coming off a two-year, $9-million contract. The Giants need to upgrade their defensive line, and this is a good option to do just that.
Joel Bitonio, OG
The 34-year-old veteran has been with the Cleveland Browns since 2014. Bitonio spent the 2025 season with the new offensive line coach, Mike Bloomgren. He has logged more than 1,000 snaps in every season but two and has surpassed that mark every year since 2017. He’s been the pillar of consistency and reliability at left guard throughout his tenure.
Bitonio has allowed more than 30 pressures in the last three seasons, with eight sacks surrendered. However, the Browns’ quarterback position has been a dumpster fire. Pro Football Focus has respectably above-average grades for Bitonio, for what it’s worth. Spotrac.com projects Bitonio at $12.9 million annually.
That price tag is a bit high for an aging player who has played only left guard in the NFL. He would further stabilize the offensive line, but his signing would likely move Jon Runyan Jr. back to the right side, where he played in his final year with the Green Bay Packers. It’s an option for Joe Schoen, and one that coincides with many of the decisions the Giants have made over the last month — experience, experience, experience.
Other guards like Greg Van Roten and Kevin Zeitler — both of whom played for the Giants previously — should also be considered.
