The One Overlooked Departure That Will Hurt the Giants the Most

The great thing about free agency in the NFL is that it affords teams the opportunity to hit the open market and reel in players from other franchises whose skill sets will fill holes that were unignorable during the previous season.

However, the impact of one's own free agents departing for new homes across the league is the other unforgiving side of the coin.

The New York Giants, who had 20 players on their 2025 roster enter the bidding wars at the beginning of this past week, were no strangers to seeing a few key names leave East Rutherford for greener pastures or long-term contracts.

While each loss is notable, there is an understanding that some decisions come down to salary-cap constraints or poor production that simply didn't live up to expectations. Yet, on occasion, a team might not realize the underrated role a certain free agent played on its roster and how hard it would be to replace elsewhere.

As the first wave of the spending frenzy is behind John Harbaugh and company, we can point out one free agent exit that might come back to haunt the Giants if they don't find an alternative.

Giants Need an Experienced Backup Center

New York Giants free agent offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann — Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New York Giants guard Austin Schlottmann (65) runs out the tunnel against New Orleans Saints during warmups at Caesars Superdome. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The ironic part about the Giants' numerous departing free agents is that several of them joined the same Tennessee Titans organization now spearheaded by two ex-New York coaches: Robert Saleh, the Titans' new head coach, and Brian Daboll, the ex-Giants leader who took the offensive coordinator job there following his firing last November.

Among the players who reunited with their old head coach, the one who could hurt the Giants the most is former offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann, whose departure has left the franchise bereft of depth in the middle of its front.

For the third straight season, the Giants have had to overcome injury woes with starting center John Michael Schmitz. The 2023 second-round pick missed another four games this fall with a finger injury, and that was when they turned towards Schlottmann, who ended up performing admirably.

In his seven games, including four starts down the stretch of the campaign, Schlottmann played 212 pass blocking snaps and finished as the Giants' second-most efficient protector. He allowed just three pressures for a team-leading 99.2 pass blocking efficiency rating and did not commit one penalty.

Schlottmann's efforts were better than four of the five Giants starters from Week 1 and were extremely impactful in keeping some of the blitzing units in the league from getting direct lanes to Jaxson Dart. The Giants' offense averaged 30 points per game with him starting at center as well.

Schmitz's tenure as the top guy has not panned out the way the franchise had hoped when they invested a second-round pick on him as one of the top two center prospects in the 2023 class.

He posted a 60.9 PFF pass blocking grade in 466 snaps this season while allowing seven sacks and 53 total pressures in the same span.

The injury factor is more concerning, as Schmitz has struggled to stay on the field, and the chance of him missing time again in 2026 isn't out of the question. He is set to have a prove-it year ahead of him to convince the Giants organization to continue investing in him as their anchor.

As that journey unfolds, the Giants no longer have an experienced and serviceable backup with Schlottmann out of the picture.

The guard positions are also dealing with the same depth issue, and the Giants seem to be grappling with the idea of paying even a second-tier free agent to fill in those gaps with larger contracts.

The Titans stole Schlottmann away for a two-year contract worth $9 million, averaging to $3.5 million per season. While they entered free agency with one of the largest piggy banks in the NFL, and the Giants had one of the smallest, that wasn't an agreement beyond their reach.

Investing in the stability of the offensive line had to have been one of the team's focal points entering the offseason, but that was not what their spending showed, aside from the re-signing of right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor to avoid an even bigger chasm at the bookend.

The Giants will have to scour the remnants of the open market or see how their draft board unfolds in April to find a replacement to serve as a backup to Schmitz next season. If they don't get an answer soon, the loss of Schlottmann will be a move they wish they could do over.

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