New York Giants 2024 Training Camp Preview: RB Devin Singletary
The departure of running back Saquon Barkley from the Giants created many questions regarding the immediate future of the team’s running game. Barkley, a fan favorite, was a feast-or-famine type of runner for the Giants who, when healthy, was as electrifying as they came.
But ultimately, general manager Joe Schoen decided that spending $12M+ on a 27-year-old running back with an injury history wasn’t the smartest thing to do, especially since it looked as though the coaching staff was gravitating toward a committee approach at the running back spot.
So the Giants brought in Devin Singletary, who began his NFL career in Buffalo while Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll were employed there, to lead the committee. Singletary has never been a high-volume running back, but he’s been effective, leading every team he’s been on in rushing yardage, yet never cracking 1,000 yards.
However, Singletary has done well in his career, having logged a solid success rate (48.8 percent) of picking up at least 40 percent of the yardage required on first down, 60 percent on second down, and 100 percent on third and fourth downs.
Barkley, for what it’s worth, has a 42.5 percent success rate as a rusher, And while we agree that the offensive line play plays a role in a running back’s success rate, so does the back’s ability to find success between and outside the tackles, which is something Singletary has proven himself capable of doing in his NFL career.
DEVIN SINGLETARY, RB
Height: 5-7
Weight: 203 lbs.
Exp.: 6 Years
School: Florida Atlantic
How Acquired: FA-24
2023 in Review
After four seasons in Buffalo, who selected him in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft, Singletary spent the 2023 season with the Houston Texans. There he set new career highs in rushing attempts (216) and rushing yardage (898); his season success rate as a rusher of 47.7 was also a personal best.
Singletary, nicknamed “Motor,” has been durable throughout his career, missing just one game in the last four seasons. In Houston, he stepped up when Dameon Pierce, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark as a rookie in 2022, couldn’t replicate that success.
Singletary’s best game last season came in a Week 10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals when he recorded a career-best 150 rushing yards. That marked his sixth game, topping the century mark in rushing yardage.
Singletary can also catch the ball out of the backfield. With the Texans, he hauled in 30 catches for 193 yards.
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Contract/Cap Info
Singletary signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract that includes $9.5 million guaranteed and a $3.75 million signing bonus. HE has guaranteed money owed in the first two years of the deal ($2.25 million this year and $3.5 million next year). Singletary will count for just $3.75 million against the Giants’ cap (1.4 percent) this year. The Giants would gain the most cap relief if they cut Singletary after the 2025 season, their savings being $5.25 million versus a $1.24 million dead money hit.
2024 Preview
Although Saquon Barkley rarely played a full season, he displayed some pretty impressive skills and abilities when he did. In his taking on the lead running back role, Singletary will likely be compared to Barkley, at least in the beginning, something that really isn’t fair to either player but which you know is likely to come.
In Singletary, the Giants got themselves an effective and productive running back for a fraction of the cost that the Eagles paid to get Barkley. Singletary brings quick feet, great burst, and good speed.
He’s a patient runner who lets his blocks develop and isn’t as quick to go off-script, and he has exceptional vision when it comes to finding those tiny creases to slip through. Singletary might not be very big, but he plays big and with power, barrelling his way through traffic yet demonstrating the intelligence to know when to call it a play.
We have no question that Singletary will be the Giants’ lead back in this committee. As for who the RB2 is, that’s where the question lies. And while we won’t go so far as to say that Singletary and Barkley will end up with similar numbers, we do think Singletary will fill the void on the offense just fine.
PATRICIA TRAINA
Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over three decades for various media outlets. She is the host of the Locked On Giants podcast and the author of "The Big 50: New York Giants: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants" (Triumph Books, September 2020). View Patricia's full bio.