{"id":683991,"date":"2026-01-17T10:43:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T10:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/683991\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T10:43:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T10:43:37","slug":"ny-giants-free-agency-2026-5-baltimore-ravens-john-harbaugh-might-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/683991\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Giants free agency 2026: 5 Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh might want"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is a gorgeous day in the world of the New York Giants, who have landed the belle of this coaching cycle by hiring veteran Super Bowl champion John Harbaugh as their next head coach. Accomplished offensive coordinator Todd Monken is expected to follow Harbaugh to New York<\/a>, and presumably, other positional coaches may soon follow as well.<\/p>\n

The Ravens are set to have 19 unrestricted free agents; the list courtesy of Bobby Skinner<\/a>:<\/p>\n

C Tyler Linderbaum
FB Patrick Ricard
OLB Kyle Van Noy
TE Charlie Kolar
TE Isaiah Likely
S Alohi Gilman
DE Dre\u2019Mont Jones
WR DeAndre Hopkins
P Jordan Stout
S Ar\u2019Darius Washington
WR Tylan Wallace
OT Joseph Noteboom
OLB David Ojabo
CB Chidobe Awuzie
DL Taven Bryan
DL Brent Urban
LB Jake Hummel
QB Tyler Huntley
RG Daniel Faalele<\/p>\n

The Giants could use several free agents in the list above, and some may be interested in following their former coach to the Big Apple. Here is a list of five names Joe Schoen and the Giants should try to sign in free agency:<\/p>\n

Likely would be an excellent addition to the Giants, and would make a nice 1A to Theo Johnson. Likely took a backseat role to Mark Andrews over his rookie contract. He still earned 487 total offensive snaps in 2025, due to Todd Monken\u2019s penchant for 12 personnel \u2014 Baltimore ran it more than any other personnel package at a 37% rate.<\/p>\n

Likely caught 27 of 34 targets for 307 yards with just one touchdown, but he broke out last year in Monken\u2019s explosive, No. 1-ranked 2024 offense. Likely caught 49 of 65 passes for 603 yards with seven touchdowns. Monken\u2019s 12 personnel was dangerous, and Likely acted as a mismatch weapon for the offense. New York could use another tight end, especially if Daniel Bellinger or Chris Manhertz leaves the team.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4, 241-pound four-year veteran would give Jaxson Dart a potent 12 personnel passing attack with blocking upside. Spotrac.com lists Likely\u2019s market value at $ 9 million per year. This would put Likely in the Hunter Henry ($9 million) and Dawson Knox ($9.83 million) range.<\/p>\n

Another tight end option that will be cheaper than Likely, who worked with Harbaugh and Monken. The 26-year-old caught 10 of 13 passes for 142 yards with a pair of touchdowns in 2025. He has secured 31 of 40 passes for 413 yards with four touchdowns in his career. At Iowa State, with Brock Purdy, Kolar was a seam threat who caught 63 of 95 targets for 764 yards with six touchdowns. He finished his four-year college career with 23 total touchdowns.<\/p>\n

There is more to Kolar\u2019s receiving profile than we\u2019ve seen in the NFL, due to him sharing a depth chart with Andrews and Likely. Kolar was a solid blocker in 2025, and he offered flexibility to the Ravens\u2019 13 personnel package. Kolar is a cheaper option, who could prove to be at a discount.<\/p>\n

What year is this!? I would LOVE for the Giants to sign a true fullback, especially a 300-pound tone-setter with incredible movement skills for a man of his size. Ricard is 31 years old, and he played 274 offensive snaps for Baltimore in 2025, giving Monken a lot of flexibility with his personnel. The Ravens aligned in 21 personnel 18% of the time, and Ricard provided a varied skill-set that diversified the rushing scheme for Baltimore. Seeing him reunite with Harbaugh and lead block for Cam Skattebo would be a ton of fun.<\/p>\n

Faalele has had a turbulent NFL career after taking the combine by storm in 2022. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher, a teammate of John Michael Schmitz, is 6-foot-8, 380 pounds. He played more than 1,000 snaps for the Ravens at right guard over the past two years, allowing 63 total pressures and five sacks, while committing 11 penalties. It wasn\u2019t the prettiest performance. Still, Faalele could be a depth option who could push for the right guard position depending on what the Giants do with Greg Van Roten.<\/p>\n

I support retaining Van Roten, who has played admirably over the last two years. Faalele, though, would offer a much bigger, more powerful player to back up an interior offensive line that thrives on technique and positioning. If he can be signed cheaply, I wouldn\u2019t mind taking a swing at a player like Faalele for interior depth with some snaps at tackle on his resume as well.<\/p>\n

The Giants spent the 57th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on John Michael Schmitz. That experiment hasn\u2019t been a disaster, but has been slightly underwhelming. Schmitz is an average starter who showed some improvement in 2025 before missing the final two games with a hand injury. Schmitz allowed 14 pressures and a sack, with four penalties in 2025, which was by far his best season overall.<\/p>\n

Improving the offensive line, hopefully still under the guidance of coaches Carmen Bricillo and James Ferentz, should not be ignored. Still, I\u2019m unsure if signing Linderbaum \u2014 who had his fifth-year option denied last spring \u2014 is the wisest investment. Linderbaum is an elite run blocker who graded out with the 19th highest run blocking grade of all offensive linemen who played at least 50% of their team\u2019s snaps.<\/p>\n

Linderbaum is an upgrade over Schmitz, but he\u2019ll command a market-setting contract that will likely top Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs, who makes $18 million a year. While excelling as an athletic run blocker with range, Linderbaum is a below-average pass blocker. He allowed 26 pressures and a pair of sacks in 2025 and has 15 penalties over the last two seasons. Linderbaum struggles to anchor against power-rushers, and he isn\u2019t the player Humphrey is.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a large investment that would certainly upgrade the Giants\u2019 current personnel, but New York would be overpaying for his talents. Schmitz is replaceable, but the perception of Linderbaum may be slightly overrated, for it doesn\u2019t take into account his less-than-ideal pass protection skills against certain body types. Nevertheless, if Harbaugh wants him, the Giants should pay up, but I have some reservations about the value of that signing.<\/p>\n