Giants 2021 roster profile: Center Jonotthan Harrison

Backup center Spencer Pulley did not play a single snap for the New York Giants in 2020. The Giants let Pulley go in free agency, but made a fairly aggressive move to replace him by signing veteran center Jonotthan Harrison to a $1.2 million contract to serve as protection for Nick Gates.

What does Harrison bring to the table? Let’s take a closer look as we continue our player-by-player profiles of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp this summer.

The basics

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 300
Age: 29
Position: Center
Experience: 7
Contract: One-year, $1.2 million | Guaranteed: $300,000 | 2021 cap hit: $1.2 million

Career to date

You may not know his name — I, candidly, did not before the Giants signed him — but, Harrison is hardly an NFL nobody.

Harrison, 29, has been in the NFL for seven seasons. He spent three years with the Indianapolis Colts, three with the New York Jets and was on the Buffalo Bills practice squad in 2020. The Bills protected him most of the season so no other NFL team could poach him off their practice squad.

Harrison has played in 84 NFL games, starting 42, and accumulating 3,102 snaps on offense.

Harrison’s Pro Football Focus grades indicate an adequate player. Thus, his journeyman status. One thing of note — he has been charged with just one sack since giving up two in his rookie season of 2014.

2021 outlook

If all goes well, Harrison will follow in Pulley’s footsteps and never see the field. This is the NFL, though, and we are entering the world of the 17-game season for the first depth. Adequate depth players can be critical for teams hoping to contend for playoff berths.

Maybe Zach Fulton, Shane Lemieux, Kyle Murphy or Brett Heggie could play center. Maybe. We know Harrison can. Just maybe that will end up being important.