If you look closely at Devin Singletary, you’ll notice that he has a distinctly baby-faced look.
The guy looks young, really young.
The 26-year-old running back smiled. He’s heard this before.
“I appreciate that,” Singletary said Friday after his third training camp practice with the Giants. “I get that a lot. I tell them my age and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I thought you were 22 or something.’ And I say, ‘Thanks.'”
Of course, Singletary is not old by any stretch of the imagination or any definition, although the definition favored by Giants general manager Joe Sean justified softening his offer to Saquon Barkley with empirical data showing that running backs’ performance regresses after age 27. As soon as Barkley agreed to terms with the Eagles, a back-up was made to sign Singletary to a three-year, $16.5 million contract on the same day.
That’s the vision and value that Sean has for the position. Average annual salary: $5.5 million. Sean spent nearly two years trying to work out a deal with Barkley, and he received a big salary of $13 million, but less than the guaranteed money Barkley received to get away.
Like it or not, Singletary and the Giants rushing attack will be evaluated from a post-Barkley perspective, and every yard and touchdown Barkley gained in Philadelphia will be measured against what Singletary and his young running back corps produced for the Giants.
Barkley, 27, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and was named the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year after rushing for 1,307 yards in his debut season. Singletary was a third-round pick in 2019 and spent four years with the Bills before setting career highs in receiving yards (898) and rushing attempts (216) last season with the Texans. Singletary has been remarkably durable, appearing in 16, 17, 16 and 17 games over the past four seasons and allowing 4.6 career yards per rushing attempt to Barkley’s 4.3.
At first glance, the two athletes are built differently: Singletary is not skinny at 203 pounds, but he’s short — listed at a modest 5’7″ — and looks like he could live in Barkley’s thighs.
Singletary may have seen what was coming and ditched the No. 26 jersey he wore in the NFL to avoid any obvious contrast with Barkley, who has become the Giants’ most popular number for the past six years. Singletary opted to keep his number.
“No, it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “Saquon’s a great player, everybody knows that. I think I’m a great player too, but that doesn’t matter. I’m 26 and that’s the number I love. He just happened to have that number.”
While there is usually some uncertainty when a free agent is signed by another team, there was none with this deal, and Sean and head coach Brian Daboll worked with Singletary for three years in Buffalo and knew that the player everyone calls “Motor” would give his all in a professional, unassuming manner.
“He’s very disciplined,” Daboll said. “He’s got the right attitude. He’s got determination and grit. He does what he’s supposed to do when he’s supposed to do it.”
“There’s a credibility factor. He’s a great communicator. He’s a very good leader on the running back team. We had a good player before him in Frank Gore, one of the best players at running back. He’s not a loudmouth, but I think he’s well respected by the guys in the locker room. I think he’ll do a good job for us.”
What the Giants want here is someone who can do a good job for a reasonable price, and they’re hoping one of the unproven backs behind Singletary — Eric Gray or rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. or Dante Miller — can shore up the starter. If that means less work for less money, so be it. The Giants want to be more of a pass-heavy attack this season anyway.
Singletary can run tough yards and catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s a good pass protector despite his small size. He’s just a good, solid player.
“He’s doing everything right,” said guard Jon Runyan Jr., who was also acquired as a free agent. “There hasn’t been a single play where something just didn’t go right.”
Singletary will never be selected to a Pro Bowl, he will never be on any top 10 running back list (he probably won’t even be on the top 15, to be fair), and his words and posts will never make headlines.
“I’m a Duck, that’s the best way to describe it,” Singletary said. “I give my all every week, every game, every play, for the guys on either side of me. They’ll know I’m a hard worker.”
As he establishes himself with the Giants, there will likely be a lot of No. 26 jerseys with other people’s names on the back, which is something he’ll have to get used to.
