During the 2024 season, the Seattle Seahawks needed to find someone who could help them stop the run. Head coach Mike Macdonald's defense wasn't quite as good as he hoped in the first half of the season, and quick changes were being made. One of those was to add Roy Robertson-Harris.
The defensive tackle played only one half of a season in Seattle before moving on to the New York Giants last season. He signed a two-year deal with the team, but he won't be able to participate in year two. During voluntary workouts with the Giants this week, Robertson-Harris tore his Achilles tendon.
The injury will definitely keep him out of next season, but the issue could also end his career. If he were 28 years old, that would be one thing, but the veteran was set to be 33 years old before the 2026 season. Coming back from an Achilles tear as a free agent ahead of his age-34 season might mean no team takes a chance on him.
Former Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris tears his Achilles tendon
That's the brutal truth of the NFL, and one that Robertson-Harris could easily be facing, not that he deserves that fate. He turned himself into the kind of player who knew his role and approached each season trying to get better in that aspect.
He wasn't a pass-rusher. He was a force in the middle of the defensive line who had one job: Take up offensive linemen and let the linebackers behind him sweep in and take down opposing ball-carriers.
In his nine seasons, he never had more than 3.5 sacks in any season, and he only had more than 35 tackles once. In 2025, he started all 17 games, played on 56 percent of defensive snaps for the Giants, and didn't have a sack. He wasn't expected to have many.
In his half-season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2024, Roy Robertson-Harris played in 11 games, had zero sacks, and had six run stuffs. He was given a solid run defense grade of 61.1 by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
He has never made the Pro Bowl in his career, but he has mostly remained healthy recently. He hadn't missed a game since 2021. Now, the one-time Seahawks player will miss all the games next season, and could easily never play again. Hopefully, he would be remembered as the kind of player willing to do the dirty work in the middle of the defensive line that every team needs.
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