Giants Notes: Former Ravens Patrick Ricard, Isaiah Likely on John Harbaugh's leadership; Jermaine Eluemunor's pride in re-signing

With NFL free agency underway this week, some of the recent Giantssignings spoke with reporters on Thursday...

Follow the leader

Two of New York's moves this week involved former Ravens as the team inked deals with FB Patrick Ricard and TE Isaiah Likely. Of course, both players were coached in Baltimore by new Giants head coach John Harbaugh and were more than happy to follow him to East Rutherford.

Ricard, who had spent his entire nine-year career with the Ravens, said that he was deciding between the Giants and Cleveland Browns (with former Ravens OC Todd Monken as new HC), but would play for Harbaugh wherever he went, literally.

"I just want to start off with saying I'm just very grateful for Coach Harbaugh," Ricard said. "I mean, he's been in my corner my whole career. He's believed in me. And as soon as I saw he got the job here, I was definitely interested. I even told him, like, look, if you were coaching a Pop Warner football team, I'm interested. You know, like I'm there doing something. I don't even know if I'm like the water boy, you know what I'm saying?

"So, like as soon as he was interested in me coming here, I was all in. I was just ready to just sign the contract and let's get going."

Likely, who told reporters that QB Jaxson Dart helped recruit him to New York, discussed what makes players want to be coached by Harbaugh.

"I'd say really just the culture that he brings," Likely said. "With Harbs the mantra was always be disciplined, you're going to give 110 percent effort for a whole 60 minutes, and understand that you'll never go into a game thinking negative. And I feel like that's the best mantra to have going into any organization having Harbs as your leader."

Ricard added that he felt Big Blue "was a better fit for me and my family." He went on to say he's excited to play under OC Matt Nagy and is willing to "do whatever they ask me to do" on offense. One of the things he's looking forward to is blocking for RB Cam Skattebo, who he became a big fan of from a distance last season.

"So, I loved watching him last year, and I was just thinking to myself, I'm like, man, that guy has a lot of fun," Ricard said. "And you can just tell by how he plays and the juice he brings to the team.

"I've had a couple conversations with him. He was recruiting me to come here. I'm close with Jermaine Eluemunor, both in the same draft class in Baltimore. Jermaine was FaceTiming me, and right in the background there's Skatt just saying what's up to me. So, I'm excited to work with them and get to know him more."

As for what he envisions the big backfield doing -- expect physicality and touchdowns.

"It's going to look like a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns," Ricard said. "It's going to be just physicality all over the place. It's going to just be exactly what the people want to see."

Tight end Isaiah Likely (80), then with the Baltimore Ravens, runs the ball after making a catch during the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

New York pride

The Giants were able tore-sign Eluemunor to a three-year deal on Monday, bringing back a key piece to the offensive line. The right tackle has started 31 games over the past two seasons for Big Blue since joining the franchise ahead of the 2024 season.

During his media availability on Thursday, Eluemunor showed how much this deal means to him by showing up in a suit to talk with reporters via Zoom.

"It means a lot," Eluemunor said. "It's something I've been working towards my entire career and I just wanted to show them that it's, this isn't just another day for me, it's a combination of all the days I put in, all the hard work I put in, just keeping my head down and working. And I've been open about my story where I've been cut, traded, put on the p-squad, cut, benched and I've been through all these different things that not a lot of players get to this position I'm in right now. And to me I truly just wanted to show just how how important this is.

"And I feel like you put on suits for important events and this truly is an important event, and I just wanted to show whoever, like the fans, the coaches, anyone in the building, just how much this meant to me and how much I truly appreciate this. And I feel like you have to dress for the occasion. Not everyone may do it, but for me I truly think that it was appropriate for this situation and the day. And it's a huge day for me and my family and I wanted to show that through the suit."

Eluemunor said he's proud Harbaugh gets to see the player he's grown to become a decade after being traded out of Baltimore almost a decade ago.

"Well, I'm nowhere close to the player I was back then, I can tell you that," Eluemunor said. "Coach Harbs is the type of guy that's going to love you hard, but he's going to coach you harder. And like I said, he's going to hold you accountable for everything. He's going to hold you to a certain standard and a certain expectation when you're practicing out there, the way you carry yourself, the way you represent the franchise, and just the way you are as a person.

"He wants great players, but he also wants great men and great people, and he's a big believer in that. I think that's something he's done great job of throughout his career and how long I've known him.

"As for the player, obviously I wasn't a good enough player back when I was in Baltimore, that's why they traded me. But again, standing in front of Harbs and telling him the player I've become and the player I'm going to be in the future, it was really cool just to be able to sit in front of him and just see him again and let him see the man I've become. Because I was, back when I got drafted, obviously that was almost 10 years ago now, or I guess it will be 10 years ago this season. So, I've grown a lot, matured a lot, and coming into my own as a player and as a person, and I'm just really glad that Coach Harbs gets to see that.

Eluemunor also expressed what it means to play for the Giants and how excited he is to continue doing so under Harbaugh.

"I didn't want to be anywhere else. I wanted to continue to be a New York Giant because I love this team, I love this franchise, I love the people in the building. I wanted to play for coach Harbs, and I'm excited that I get the opportunity to do that again."

Oct 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) reacts against the New Orleans Saints during the first quarter at Soldier Field. / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Veteran leadership

After releasing starting LB Bobby Okereke, the Giants needed to find someone to fill that role on defense. And they did, signing LB Tremaine Edmunds to a three-year deal on Monday.

The nine-year veteran spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bears after five years with the Buffalo Bills. He's earned two Pro Bowl nods during his career and has become a key leader on the defensive side of the ball. When asked about what it takes to run a defense, Edmunds told reporters the importance of being both yourself and a team player.

"No, it's just you got to be yourself," Edmunds said. "Like this is my ninth year going into the league, and it's always been the same mindset for me. Like be your authentic self and people are going to be led by somebody like that. I don't try to be somebody I'm not. Obviously, just being a good defense, being a good team and being a good player, like you got to demand a lot out of each other.

"So that's definitely one thing that each and every one of us should want out of each other. That's what brings a team together, that's what brings players together, and that's what I've always been about all my years. Not trying to show up somebody that I'm not, respecting everybody, showing love, but at the same time, like you're going to see off my work, I've always been a hard worker. All my teammates can vouch for it. And that's just how I truly believe like you can be a good leader, a good player and just have longevity in this league, be yourself, be your authentic self and people are going to gravitate towards that."

Edmunds then shared that he grew up a Ravens fan and Hall of Fame LB Ray Lewis was his favorite player. The 27-year-old now gets to play under the same leadership with Harbaugh and expressed his excitement for the opportunity.

"I've been a fan of Coach Harbaugh for a long time. I actually grew up a Ravens fan. So, I was very close with what he did and players that he coached.

"You brought up Ray Lewis. That was my favorite player going up, ironically. And just to be able to kind of get under that same tree and, you know what I mean, just get around greatness. And he's coached, like you said, some other Hall of Fame players and some other big-time players. And now it's my time to come in to take that coaching and to elevate my career and elevate what I've been doing over these years.

"And I'm extremely excited. It's going to be definitely a lot of work, but at the same time, that's what you want. You want something that's going to be hard. Anything that's worth having, it takes hard work and sacrifice. So, I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity, and I'm excited for this opportunity for sure."