Roy Robertson-Harris tore his Achilles tendon at Thursday’s OTA workout and is expected to miss the 2026 season, the injury coming early in a practice held indoors because of rain.
Robertson-Harris, 32, was taking first-team reps when he reached for the back of his right leg and went down. The veteran defensive lineman had started all 17 games for New York last season and finished with 35 tackles, three for a loss, and six quarterback hits.
The timing deepens a roster problem for the Giants. Robertson-Harris was on the second and final season of a two-year deal worth $9.25 million after signing a two-year, $9 million contract with the team a year ago. He was entering his 10th professional season and had appeared in 134 games with 79 starts since going undrafted out of UTEP, compiling 246 tackles and 19 career sacks.
The Giants’ interior defensive line had already been in transition after last month’s trade of Dexter Lawrence II to the Cincinnati Bengals. The team responded in free agency and after the draft by signing DJ Reader, Shelby Harris and Leki Fotu, moves meant to restock the middle of the line.
Achilles tendon tears are almost always season-ending injuries, and the team’s medical prognosis that Robertson-Harris will miss 2026 confirms that assessment. Thursday’s loss follows another significant offseason blow: the Giants also lost rookie cornerback Thaddeus Dixon to a torn Achilles during offseason work.
The injury removes one of the roster’s remaining veterans on the defensive front. Robertson-Harris started 17 games last season and was expected to provide continuity inside; his availability in early positional work suggested the coaching staff planned to keep him in a primary role before the injury occurred.
Numbers underline what the lineup will miss on short notice. Robertson-Harris’ 35 tackles, three tackles for loss and six quarterback hits were the tangible production he contributed across a full season, and his presence pushed his career totals to 246 tackles and 19 sacks. Those figures will need to be made up by newer signings and younger players during training camp and into the season.
The obstruction is immediate: the Giants must now sort playing time behind an interior group already altered by the Lawrence trade and reshaped by recent signings. The additions of Reader, Shelby Harris and Fotu give the team bodies with NFL experience, but none of those moves erase the loss of a 10th-season veteran who started every game last season.
For New York, the most consequential fact is that depth becomes a deciding factor for 2026. With Robertson-Harris sidelined and an interior still reassembled, the team will rely on its recent signings and on younger players to carry the load. How well those pieces fit together before the season will determine whether the defensive line can absorb the loss without a meaningful drop in performance.
