The Giants are using the last Sunday before the start of the 2026 regular season to take care of some internal business. After extending quarterback Jameis Winston by two years, the Giants signed guard Jon Runyan Jr. to a two-year, $22 million extension. The contract was announced by Runyan’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Jon Runyan Jr. is now under contract through 2028. The son of former NFL offensive lineman Jon Runyan, Jon Jr. was a sixth-round pick of the Packers in 2020. After four years with the Packers (three as a full-time starter), Runyan Jr. signed with the Giants. He has been a full-time starter for the Giants since 2024, and he obviously has done enough to persuade coach John Harbaugh that Runyan Jr. is part of the solution for a team that has been sufficiently problematic to have six head coaches since 2011, the last year in which the team won a Super Bowl. In his six-year career, Runyan Jr. has 96 regular-season appearances, with 79 starts. He is expected to be the starting left guard next Sunday night, when the Giants host the Cowboys on the first Sunday night of the new year
On a day when the Giants also extended backup quarterback Jameis Winston, they also ensured they’ll have another piece of their offensive line for another two seasons, too
Winston and the Giants agreed Sunday on a two-year, $13 million extension, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update
The Raiders naming Kirk Cousins their starting quarterback to open the 2026 season was hardly a surprise. While Las Vegas had been projected to draft Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall for months, the team’s brass had said publicly that its preference was for a rookie quarterback to sit and learn behind a veteran. But now that it’s official, Mendoza has become a member of a rare group of quarterbacks from recent years. Mendoza is the first quarterback since Baker Mayfield in 2018 not to start Week 1 after being selected at No. 1 overall. Mayfield’s situation was not particularly unusual at the time, as Jared Goff had been through the same thing in 2016. But since then, Kyler Murray (2019), Joe Burrow (2020), Trevor Lawrence (2021), Bryce Young (2023), Caleb Williams (2024), and Cam Ward (2025) have all been their respective club’s Week 1 starter after being selected at No. 1 overall. Since Matthew Stafford was selected at No. 1 overall in 2009, only Goff, Mayfield, and Mendoza have started the season as QB2. Sam Bradford (2010), Cam Newton (2011), Andrew Luck (2012), and Jameis Winston (2015) all started the season opener. Mayfield made it into a game by Week 3, taking over for an injured Tyrod Taylor to lead the Browns to their first victory since 2016 with a 21-17 victory over the Jets. He took over as Cleveland’s starter the following week. It took longer for Goff to ascend to QB1 for the Rams in 2016, as he began his tenure as Los Angeles’ starter in Week 11 with a 14-10 loss to Miami. Mendoza’s development will remain a priority for the Raiders, even as he won’t receive starters’ reps in the regular season. “ Early work, late work. More meetings ,” Kubiak said on Wednesday. “Plenty of time on the field between drills with [QBs] coach [Mike] Sullivan and [offensive coordinator] coach [Andrew] Janocko. Every player that is not starting the first game, that is helping us on the look team, we’re just trying to find every edge we can find to continue to get him better and his teammates better.” Aside from those selected at No. 1 overall, there are plenty of QBs who haven’t started early and ended up being successful. “I think there are so many examples both ways,” Kubiak said. “I think the most important thing with the quarterback room or any other position is to build competition within the room. That makes players so much better faster than coaching, when they have a guy in front of them that they can look up to and see how something’s done — that’s going to accelerate their growth.” We’ll see when Mendoza becomes Las Vegas’ starter. If Cousins plays well and the Raiders are winning, that might not be until 2027. But history suggests Mendoza will be on the field sooner or later as a rookie
Odell Beckham Jr . came into the league in 2014 as the No. 12 overall pick out of LSU, joining the New York Football Giants as an expected star. Since then, he's taken a number of paths in the league, and it seems all roads lead back to 1 MetLife Stadium Drive, East Rutherford, New Jersey. On Sunday, NFL teams narrowed down their teams for the upcoming season, needing to be at 53 players by 6 p.m. ET. This means a total of 1,184 players will be released by their teams. According to an ESPN report, Beckham is not one of those players . Beckham signed with the Giants this offseason, looking not only for a reunion with his old team but also with his former coach. Beckham worked with current Giants head coach John Harbaugh when they were both with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. Harbaugh complimented Beckham's efforts as the 33-year-old was working to make the roster. Earlier this week, Harbaugh added that this was OBJ's "best week" at training camp. "Yes, he has done enough to make an NFL roster, for sure," Harbaugh said. "He's played well. He's gotten better as camp's gone along. He deserves credit for that. He's done a really good job with it." Beckham has some unfinished business with the Giants and feels like he has more to give on the football field, and gets his chance this year with the Giants when they kick off their season on Sept. 13 at home against division rival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The Giants' starting quarterback is Jaxson Dart , with Jameis Winston backing him up. The wide receiver room also includes Malik Nabers , rookie Malachi Fields , Darius Slayton and Darnell Mooney . "It would mean everything to me if I made it," Beckham said earlier this week. "... I feel like I gave everything I've had. Super grateful for the opportunity. ... I know that I have a good feeling about myself. I feel like there is ball to be played, plays to be made. Right now, I'm just truly grateful for that opportunity and experience." His journey has included many bumps in the road, injuries, team changes and up-and-down play. Beckham last saw an NFL regular-season game as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 2024. He was eventually waived in December of the same year. Ahead of the release, he appeared in nine games, finishing with nine receptions for 55 yards. In October of 2025, Beckham was suspended for six games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. He would not play a single snap all season, making his last in-game appearance on December 8, 2024, against the New York Jets, where he had one reception for one yard. OBJ spent the first five years playing for the Giants, recording memorable moments like the one-handed catch and racking up four 1,000-plus-yard receiving seasons, and earning all three of his Pro Bowl selections during his time with the team. He was one to watch from the beginning, winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, but after a solid first year with the Browns, an ACL injury impacted his stat line and playing time in Cleveland. His time with the Browns was not without drama: he played for them in 2019, 2020 and six games in 2021 before joining the Los Angeles Rams in November of 2021. Beckham played eight games for the Rams, recording 27 receptions for 305 yards on the Super Bowl-winning team. OBJ was sidelined for the majority of the big game after scoring the first touchdown of the contest against the Cincinnati Bengals due to an ACL injury. He didn't get to play the entire game, but he did get his ring. He didn't end up signing with a team for the following season, sitting out all of 2022 before joining the Ravens for one season in 2023 and Miami in 2024, bringing us to his latest venture. Beckham discussed having to sit out two full seasons in his career and the decision to keep playing, even with some roadblocks. "It was a tough couple years, taking a step back and deciding whether to move forward with life. Are you done? The mental battles that [... truncated ...]
The Cowboys and Saints were fined after players from the two teams fought at a joint practice this week and two other clubs could be hearing from the league as well. Reporters at Thursday’s Dolphins-Giants practice said the session had to be stopped multiple times because of skirmishes between players from the two teams. Dolphins right tackle Austin Jackson and Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor were removed from the practice because of their involvement in fights that also included Giants backup quarterback Jameis Winston. “You’re not trying to do that, but it’s just football,” Giants head coach John Harbaugh said, via a transcript from the team. “It’s not a game, so you don’t have the same, quite, guardrails on it. And it’s a violent game. And so, in this sort of an environment, you have these rules of engagement that aren’t really rules of the game. And then somebody perceives somebody else goes over the line, or they do go over the line, and somebody needs to protect somebody, and that’s where it goes. And I think as long as it doesn’t get out of control where we get a violent type of situation, it’s fine. We decided that anybody that threw a punch in those scrimmages would be treated like the game. That’s why Jermaine didn’t practice toward the end. He didn’t really throw a hard punch, but it was to the facemask, and that’ll get you in the game. So, that’s a 15-yarder at least. So, we decided that we were following those rules of engagement, and that’s what we did with that one.” The league can fine teams for practices going over the line, but players can only be fined by their clubs. We’ll see if the Dolphins and Giants join the Cowboys and Saints in receiving punishment as well as if they’ll penalize their players for going too far
Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. saw his first game action since Week 14 of the 2024 season in Saturday’s preseason opener. Beckham got a nice ovation from the crowd at MetLife Stadium when he entered the game in the second quarter and caught two passes for six yards from Jameis Winston on three targets. Beckham also appeared to be open downfield late in the first half, but Winston opted for a shorter throw. “I felt good. I feel good being out there ,” Beckham said. “I feel when you see the tape or at practice, I’m getting open. But at the end of the day, a receiver, I always talk about this, it’s the most selfless position on the field. You wait around all game for everybody to do their job just for five opportunities maybe. So when they do come their way, you’ve got to make the most of them. Today it was light. We’ll see what happens.” Beckham played for Giants head coach John Harbaugh in Baltimore in 2023 and Harbaugh said he has enjoyed seeing the receiver back on the field after sitting out the 2025 season. “I thought he looked pretty good,” Harbaugh said. “Made a couple catches, you know? Did some things, some things he could’ve done better. He’ll be the first guy to tell you that. But he looks solid. . . . I love him Odell. What he’s doing, what he’s fighting for, you know, I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. It’s going to turn out the way it turns out, you know, based on what happens. But to see his fight, his determination, his humility. He’s got his son in camp the other day. He’s doing it for his son. Just as a friend, that makes me really proud.” Beckham was listed on the third string on the Giants’ initial depth chart and Saturday’s usage reflects where he currently is in the pecking order. Beckham doesn’t play special teams, which won’t help his chances of making the club unless he finds himself ahead of several other wideouts by the end of the preseason
The Giants have spent the better part of a decade looking for Eli Manning's replacement. The Saints have taken nearly as long trying to find life after Hall of Famer Drew Brees . Different cities, different organizations, same question: did they finally get their guy? New York cycled through names like Daniel Jones , Tommy DeVito and Russell Wilson before handing the offense to Jaxson Dart . In New Orleans, the list included Teddy Bridgewater , Jameis Winston , Derek Carr and Spencer Rattler before turning to Tyler Shough . Every move started with guarded optimism and ended with the search continuing. This time feels different. Not because Dart and Shough are guaranteed to become franchise quarterbacks, but because their rookie seasons in 2025 resembled those of quarterbacks who historically took major steps forward in their sophomore campaigns. Giants and Saints fans have heard such promises before. This time, there are reasons to believe. Quarterbacks don't usually break out because they throw for 4,000 yards as rookies. They break out because they already show the traits that consistently translate -- efficiency comes before production and limiting mistakes comes before stardom. The breakout usually arrives later, a function of everything else coming together. To see how Year 2 often unfolds, I looked at every quarterback since 2010 who started at least eight games as a rookie and tracked what happened in his second season. The quarterbacks who break out in Year 2 don't all get there the same way. But history shows a few recurring paths. The Launch Justin Herbert +0.13 +0.17 Elite rookie became an even better Year 2 quarterback. The Rescue Trevor Lawrence -0.09 +0.12 Coaching change unlocked his talent. The Plateau Mac Jones +0.04 -0.09 Offensive coaching change disrupted his development. The Regression Dak Prescott +0.23 -0.04 Supporting cast and offensive environment deteriorated. The Injury Robert Griffin III +0.22 +0.02 Knee injury fundamentally altered his trajectory. The lesson isn't that every quarterback falls into one of these distinct categories. It's that context matters as much as talent. Herbert built on an outstanding rookie season. Lawrence took off once Jacksonville got the coach right. Prescott regressed when the offense around him regressed ( Ezekiel Elliott was suspended, the offensive line was banged up). Mac Jones lost momentum after an offensive overhaul that included losing coordinator Josh McDaniels. And Griffin's trajectory changed because of injury late in his rookie season. Development is rarely linear, and it's almost never isolated from what's happening around the quarterback. So where does that leave this year's class? If there's one quarterback I'd bet on to make a Year 2 leap, it's Dart. What surprised me most was how consistent the results were. Whether I looked at historical comparisons or projections, they kept pointing back to the Giants quarterback. The Giants didn't spend Dart's rookie season trying to hide him. Once he became the starter, Brian Daboll asked him to run the offense, push the ball downfield and consistently make big-boy NFL throws. As the season progressed, Dart looked increasingly comfortable doing exactly that. And while it didn't always work, the results were encouraging. Dart's rookie numbers were modest: 2,272 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and a 91.7 passer rating across 12 starts. The more encouraging story lived beneath those numbers. Dart consistently challenged defenses downfield while protecting the football -- just five interceptions on 339 attempts -- even after Malik Nabers was lost for the season in Dart's first NFL start. By November, Daboll wasn't calling games like he was trying to protect a rookie. He was calling them like he expected Dart to make NFL throws. (And, yes, also like he was trying to save his job. Both things can be true.) Dart rewarded that trust. The game never felt too big, and that's a common thread fo
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