After the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh, they started anew. They shed his old coaching staff and many of his players in free agency. Harbaugh eventually landed with the New York Giants, and it came as no shock that he brought in several former Ravens. He’s added four thus far.
Among those Harbaugh-guys brought to the Big Apple are Isaiah Likely, Patrick Ricard, Ar’Darius Washington, and Jordan Stout. It seems like polarizing Harbaugh starter Daniel Faalele didn’t get the invite. New York needed help at guard, so maybe his invite got lost in the mail.
On Monday, the Giants ended up signing a guard. They signed…Lucas Patrick? I guess John Harbaugh didn’t want Faalele back on his team. That might be his way of admitting that he was wrong for letting him start 36 games over the last two years. Very wrong.
John Harbaugh may have admitted he made a critical mistake with Baltimore Ravens
It’s not like Patrick is the only guard that New York has signed. They’ve undergone a complete overhaul on the offensive front. They also inked contracts with Evan Neal, Josh Ezeudu, and Aaron Stinnie this offseason, all of whom are returnees. There have been plenty of chances to add Faalele, and Harbaugh clearly hasn’t pushed the front office for it.
Faalele was given way too long a leash in Baltimore. Fans are immensely excited that he is being replaced in 2026. The Ravens signed John Simpson, and it sounds like the other guard spot will be occupied by a rookie or one of Emery Jones Jr. or Andrew Vorhees. It’s safe to say the new coaching staff quickly recognized the problem up front. On the other hand, it took Harbaugh far too long.
After being drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Faalele began his NFL career as a tackle. He slowly made the transition to guard, and in 2024, the fans’ nightmare started, and so did Harbaugh’s dream, I guess.
Faalele went on to start every game for Baltimore from Week 1 of 2024 through Week 18 of 2025, which included two playoff matchups. That stretch was marred by utterly horrific play. He was the thorn in the offense’s side, letting Lamar Jackson get banged up and doing his best to make life difficult for Derrick Henry. It sounds hyperbolic, but he was really that bad.
Somehow, Harbaugh never saw that fatal flaw. In fact, despite countless efforts by pretty much everyone to bring Faalele’s struggles to his attention, the veteran head coach went to bat for the 26-year-old nearly every week. And like former Baltimore Oriole Chris Davis in the midst of his infamous 0-for-54 streak, Harbaugh was striking out a lot of the time.
At times, it felt like Harbaugh’s ego was getting the best of him. He went out of his way to try to prove people wrong, and now, after the Giants signed Patrick, it seems like he’s the one who’s been proven wrong. It’s funny how that works.
Maybe the fans and everyone else who watched the games were right all along. We’ll take our apology in the mail, John.