INDIANAPOLIS — Sure, John Harbaugh has been busy studying the players on the Giants roster, paying special attention to the impending free agents, as decisions on them need to be made fairly soon.
The three top guys in that category are wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor and cornerback Cor’Dale Flott.
All three put in strong performances last season for a team that went 4-13, meaning there was no guarantee Harbaugh would view those players as important parts of the 2026 squad.
Harbaugh took a long look at all three of those players.
“The bottom line is, I saw all guys that we want back,’’ he said Tuesday from the NFL scouting combine.
That was easy. Now comes the hard part. Can the Giants find the salary cap space to get it done?
“OK, do we have the wherewithal to bring him back?’’ Harbaugh said. “Is it a good use of the resources, which is the cap? So that’s the next part of the conversation. And that’s part of the planning that’s been taking place, and we’ll learn more about this week when we find out what the real values are. What’s realistic.’’
Robinson, Eluemunor and Flott are all starting players, meaning if any of them leave, their spot in the lineup must be filled with a suitable replacement.
“We’ll come out of this week understanding the free agent landscape a little bit better because there’s conversations that happen behind the scenes,’’ Harbaugh said. “I’m not having those conversations. Joe [Schoen] does a great job with that. I will be interested to hear how that stuff goes.’’
Schoen said he feels good about where WR Malik Nabers (knee) and RB Cam Skattebo (ankle) are in their recoveries from the surgeries that prematurely ended their 2025 seasons. Nabers tore his right ACL and meniscus and is rehabbing in Miami.
“I’ve been texting with him the last couple of days and he’s in a good spot, he feels good and the plan is hopefully for him to still be ready for training camp,’’ Schoen said of Nabers, with the caveat that “every patient reacts differently and sometimes there are setbacks.”
The Giants will add a video director sometime soon in yet another new hire. .. OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux is back on the fifth-year option salary of $14.75 million and at this point, speculation that the Giants will look to trade him is inaccurate. They did get several calls about him at the trade deadline last season. This year?
“I haven’t heard anything yet, but my job as a general manager is, if people come and they ask if we’d be interested in trading, if we’re interested in their players, you take everything into consideration,’’ Schoen said. “It doesn’t mean we’re gonna do it, we’re always gonna listen. That’s my job.’’
Schoen said the expectation is “Kayvon’s gonna be with us.’’
Schoen and Harbaugh were both asked about co-owner Steve Tisch’s name appearing several times in the Epstein files.
“Steve released a statement a few weeks ago about the regret and I’m just gonna leave it at that,’’ Schoen said. “I’m not gonna comment any more on that.”
“I don’t have a stance on that,’’ Harbaugh said at the podium. “Steve, he put out a statement, right? He expressed his regret, and that’s where it stands for me. That’s where I’m at.’’
Off the podium, asked if Tisch’s association with Epstein changed his view of Giants ownership, Harbaugh said: “I have great respect for the ownership. All the people I’ve gotten to meet — John [Mara], and Steve, and Chris Mara and Jon Tisch and Carolyn Tisch and the Koch family — have been nothing but great conversations, great interactions. We’ve been talking about the business of football, the business of building our team, the business of putting staffs together. That’s what our conversations have been about.’’
On Jan. 30, Tisch put out this statement about his name appearing in the Epstein files: “We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments. I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.’’