After being fired by the Baltimore Ravens and signing with the New York Giants, John Harbaugh has brought many of his friends with him to the Big Apple. Initially, that didn’t include frustrating starter Daniel Faalele. Well, I guess Faalele finally got his invite to join the party.
The #Giants continue to add their O-line before the Draft, agreeing to terms with former #Ravens G Daniel Faalele on a 1-year deal, sources say.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 8, 2026
The 6-foot-8 Faalele started every game over the last 2 seasons and has a familiarity with several coaches, including John Harbaugh. pic.twitter.com/PHpYDPFVGj
On Wednesday, the Giants made the more-than-polarizing call to sign Faalele. He’ll be joining four other former teammates, Isaiah Likely, Patrick Ricard, Ar’Darius Washington, and Jordan Stout, in New York.Â
Harbaugh clearly loves his guys, but this feels overboard. How many times does he have to learn the lesson that Faalele is simply not a good football player? Thankfully, he just took any possibility left of the 26-year-old landing back in Baltimore off the table. Good luck with that.
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Based on the deal, it’s a very low-risk move. It’s just a one-year contract. However, every Ravens fan has a good feeling of how this will play out. He’s not guaranteed to be a starter, but given New York’s current problem at offensive guard, there’s a strong chance he’ll be just that. Harbaugh has a questionable love for him.
Faalele started every possible game over the last two seasons. Adding as much familiarity as Harbaugh has makes sense when you’re starting a new tenure elsewhere. You’re going to want to start laying the groundwork with people you can trust. That’s why much of his coaching staff already has that built-in relationship, and it’s continued with the roster construction. Except for net-negative assets like Faalele, it doesn’t really make sense. It’s an addition that screams ego.
Throughout the entirety of Harbaugh’s last season with the Ravens, Faalele was a problem. There were a lot of problems, to be fair, but Faalele was the most obvious one. Then-rookie Emery Jones Jr. felt like a shoo-in to compete for that starting spot once he was ready to go by mid-season, but he would actually battle for Andrew Vorhees’ left guard snaps. Instead, Faalele had smooth sailing for the entirety of the season, no matter how choppy he made the waters.
When you cause the issues that Faalele did on offense last year, most coaches would give up on that experiment. What makes it worse is that this has actually been Faalele’s story for the past two years. Sure, he’s flashed, but most of the time, it’s been pothole after pothole in the road. Somehow, Harbaugh is still bought in. This is yet another decision where he’s trying desperately to prove people wrong, and it has a major chance to backfire in his face…again.