The New York Giants released running back Najee Harris on Tuesday, just days after starting him ahead of second-year Cam Skattebo in their 34-27 Week 6 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Harris had four carries for two yards in that game and leaves the team with 31 carries for 99 yards at 3.2 yards per carry during his stint. NFL fans were left confused by the whole sequence.

NFL Fans Surprised By Giants Releasing Najee Harris Days After Week 6 Start

In Week 6 against the Saints, Harris started and was handed four carries but gained just two yards as New York fell 34-27. Skattebo was a non-factor in the backfield all game, seeing just six offensive snaps and no carries in the loss.

That usage decision had already drawn scrutiny before Tuesday’s news came out. Skattebo was one of the more talked-about young backs in the NFC coming into the season, and keeping him off the field while starting a struggling Harris had not gone over well. Cutting Harris days later only surprised fans more.

“Started him last game, and they released him?? What sense does that make????” commented one fan.

Pro Football Network marked the occasion by posting a meme with the caption:

“Najee Harris with the Giants” alongside a photo of Aaron Rodgers’ famous Monday Night Football entrance in 2023, the same night Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth snap of his Jets debut and missed the remainder of the 2023 season.

Others pointed to the broader confusion surrounding the Giants’ backfield decisions throughout the season. “This just gets uglier. Bench skatt for no reason then cut Najee. Skatt was one of the most bet players,” remarked one user.

“The giants are so unserious lol,” said another fan.

“😭😭😭 they have zero clue what they’re doing. Welcome to the Harbaugh experience,” wrote one user.

“I’m so confused,” added another.

The release did not come entirely out of nowhere, though. Harris had spoken about the difficulty of his role after the Week 6 loss, saying the sporadic nature of his carries made it impossible to build any rhythm during games.

“The first couple runs will be like, ‘OK, how are they playing it?’ And then the next ones will be, ‘OK, this is how you attack it.’ But if you’re getting a play here and then get taken out for a series, there’s nothing you could do. That’s why I’m saying, ‘I don’t know.’ I’ve never been through none of this before,” Harris said.

Giants head coach John Harbaugh responded to Harris’s comments by saying the running back room had not done enough to earn a featured role.

“I do understand it, respect it. Also understand that that’s earned. I would love for us to be in that kind of a circumstance, a Derrick Henry circumstance or the Saquon Barkley circumstance… that would be great,” Harbaugh said.

He added that his message for Harris was the same as it would be for any player in that position: “My advice is, ‘Go out there and take the job when you get the ball. Take the job.’ That would be true, I think good advice, for all of us at all times in every circumstance, and I know he understands that.”

As for Skattebo, he opened the season decently, rushing for 81 yards and a touchdown in a 28-20 win over Dallas before a quiet 36-yard outing in a 28-6 loss at the Rams. He followed that up with back-to-back wins against Tennessee and Arizona, contributing 60 and 58 rushing yards respectively, before a 59-yard effort in the overtime tie with Washington.

According to PFN’s NFL RB Impact metric, Skattebo ranks 33rd among running backs through Week 5 of the 2026 season with a grade of 71.4, accumulating 373 scrimmage yards (294 rushing and 79 receiving) along with one touchdown.

With Harris gone, Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary remain in the Giants’ backfield, though how the carries will be divided remains unclear. Tracy scored on the ground and through the air in the Week 6 loss.