The New York Giants signed wide receiver Parris Campbell to a one-year, $4.7 million this offseason with hopes that he’d help stabilize the position.
Over the first four games of the season, Campbell was targeted 24 times before seeing a sudden reduction in snaps. The team moved him to kick returner and then, suddenly and without warning, the veteran had his role eliminated entirely.
Campbell has been a healthy scratch over the past two weeks, something that has left him perplexed.
“It’s not easy, but it’s the nature of the business,” Campbell told the New York Post. “The cliché thing to say is, ‘You know what you’re getting when you sign up,’ which is true. But there’s always things you never thought you’d be doing — and being inactive and not playing is definitely something I never thought would be happening.”
After battling injuries over the early part of his career, Campbell strung together a healthy campaign in 2022. That helped get him signed as a free agent and he assumed that health in 2023 would mean a notable offensive role but it hasn’t.
“I know I have a lot of football ahead of me,” he said. “This is basically two healthy years back-to-back underneath my belt.”
The Giants have gone with the youth movement at wide receiver, leaving behind guys like Campbell and Sterling Shepard, who could be headed toward retirement.
Despite that, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka continues to insist that Campbell is a viable weapon — just one that the team, which struggles mightily on offenses, chooses to leave docked at the marina.
“Parris is a pro,” Kafka told reporters this week. “He works his butt off, he studies, he preps, he is great for the room. It was just other guys are playing right now. I think when his time is called, he’ll step up.”
Campbell remains optimistic because he recognizes that many athletes dream of being in his position. Still, he has more to offer and that’s the frustrating part for him.
“When I came here, did I think things would be different? Of course,” he said, acknowledging that he will be a free agent again in a few months. “But this is a team sport. I would love to be the one getting the ball — I’m a competitor — but that’s not the situation that I’m in right now. Who would I be not to help these young guys out? I’m still having fun with the guys and then when we hit the field, if I see something they can do differently, I’m going to say it. That’s the role I’ve had to take on.
“Everything happens for a reason. I’m big on that. That’s always going to be the answer for me, whether things are going good or going bad.”
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