New York Giants News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. Will BE a Key Cog in NY Giants' Offense

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Stephen Lebitsch | Last updated Jul 6, 2025 2:00 PM ET

When the New York Giants parted ways with running back Saquon Barkley in free agency last offseason, it was not only a major loss to the identity of their locker room but to that of their rushing operation, which the three-time 1,000-yard rusher had held down for six seasons with his special talents.

Nevertheless, general manager Joe Schoen didn’t view the position as a premium one for his roster rebuild and opted for a different approach in replacing Barkley. One of them, who turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the Giants last fall, was rookie running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr.

Tracy, the Giants' fifth-round pick out of Purdue, was an interesting choice given his background as a former wide receiver at the college level. Still, the Giants took a flier on him with the hopes he could develop into something good behind veteran Devin Singletary, who was signed by the team to lead the unit as well.

The novice ball carrier wouldn’t just fall into line on the depth chart. He would quickly steal the starting role away from Singletary and become New York’s most productive weapon on the ground, posting one of the best rushing resumes across the NFL for a first-year player.

Tracy also served as a key offensive complement to the aerial work of fellow rookie and wide receiver Malik Nabers, both of whom combined to join exclusive company in league history by surpassing the 1,000-yard mark from scrimmage in their first season. It was a feat that gave the Giants some hope that they had found their next foundational running back of the future without the element of a higher price tag.

Even with how bright Tracy was in a role that had big shoes to fill, he wasn’t immune to the traditional rookie hiccups, some of which did hurt the Giants at critical points of close contests. Those mistakes seemed to consume Tracy over the offseason, and he has made it a goal to improve his fundamentals in his second campaign.

While nobody expects him to be a Barkley clone, Tracy has created expectations for another solid effort in 2025 and to become a key weapon in the Giants' offensive system. If he achieves that, Tracy could likely cement himself as the leader of the team’s running back pack for years to come.

Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB

Height: 5-11
Weight: 210 lbs
Exp: 2 Years
School: Purdue
How Acquired: D5-’24

2024 in Review

Many expected Tracy’s debut production to be modest, as it tends to be for most rookie running backs, but that was far from the case as he quickly ascended into the No. 1 role within the first few weeks of his arrival in the pros and never lost it.

Playing in all 17 games for the Giants, Tracy collected a team-leading 192 carries for 839 rushing yards, five touchdowns, and an average of 4.4 yards per attempt. He also added some work as a pass catcher, securing 38 catches on 53 targets for 284 yards, one touchdown, and a long reception of 19 yards.

Tracy’s metrics, including rushing snaps (234), attempts, yards, touchdowns, yards after contact (546), and missed tackles forced (34), all finished second in the NFL for rookie backs. The only competition he had above him in these stats was Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving, the only rookie rusher with a 1,000-yard season.

However, Tracy’s run and receiving work were enough to get him over the 1,000-yard mark from scrimmage. With Malik Nabers, he became part of the first rookie duo to each amass 1,000 yards from scrimmage since Marques Colston and Reggie Bush did it for the Saints back in the 2006 season.

The 25-year-old back hit the 100-yard rushing mark in a single game three times, each against Seattle in Week 5 (18 carries for 129 yards), Week 8 at Pittsburgh (career-high 20 carries for 145 yards, 1 TD) and Week 10 against Carolina in Munich, Germany (18 carries for 103 yards, 1 TD).

Sadly, that last game against the Panthers would be where Tracy would experience one of his signature woeful rookie errors. The Giants had the ball in overtime with a chance to drive downfield and win the international game, until Tracy muffed an early handoff that was recovered by Carolina and turned into a game-winning chip-shot field goal to hand New York a grueling 20-17 loss.

Tracy would finish the season with five fumbles, including three in two weeks against Carolina and Tampa Bay. With four of those cough-ups happening in Giants’ defeats, the rising second-year ball carrier has to do better to protect the football if he wants to be trusted with the heavy workload.

Tracy is fully capable of that, given he had 7 seven games with at least 14 handoffs and finished in the top 25 in his position at the end of his NFL debut.

Contract/Cap Info

Tracy is entering the second season of his four-year, $4,306,352 contract with the Giants. The deal includes a $286,352 signing bonus that prorates to $71,588 per year.

In 2025, Tracy will earn a base salary of $960,000 along with his annual portion of the prorated signing bonus. That brings his cap number for this season to $1,031,588.

2025 Preview

The New York Giants' running backs room has officially undergone a refresh over the past couple of seasons, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. has been at the start of what is brewing at the position. He’s still young, but the ball is in his hands, no pun intended, to fully take over and command the backfield as another beloved career Giant if he wants it.

As the team heads into camp, Tracy should expect to handle the first-team reps, and so long as he stays healthy and addresses his fumbling problem, he will continue that trend into the 2025 season with a new and exciting teammate alongside him in fellow rookie running back Cam Skattebo.

Skattebo, who is known for his classic bruising run style that Giants fans remember from some of their best ball carriers in recent memory, is creating the anticipation for a rebirth of the old “Earth, Wind and Fire” rushing trio with Tracy, Cam Skattebo, and Devin Singletary. The rookie will be the power back running it up the gut and beating down the defense, while Tracy will use his speed to find open space and extra yards as the outside zone weapon.

The Giants should have little reason not to put up a better effort on the ground this season, especially with a healthy offensive line and added depth to support the run game, which ranked 23rd in the NFL in 2024.

A solid effort in the trenches is what opens up more possibilities through the air, and the Giants want to have more of those opportunities to attack an opposing defense when they’re tired.

It all starts with winning the plays on first and second downs, and the running backs like Tracy will be expected to play a large role in that. The new leader of the Giants' backfield has to play by example, protect the football, and prove he can outlast his late-round draft status to become a fixture in the rushing leaderboards each season.

Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.