If the New York Giants lose tight end Daniel Bellinger in NFL free agency, it seems unlikely they would simply give the backup tight end job to untested 2025 seventh-round pick Thomas Fidone. That could open the door for the Giants to bring in one of John Harbaugh’s former players with the Baltimore Ravens, tight end Isaiah Likely.
Likely, entering his age 26 season, is a four-year veteran who caught 135 passes, 15 for touchdowns, in 63 regular-season games after the Ravens made him a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Likely was chosen 139th by the Ravens. Bellinger was taken 112th by the Giants.
The 2025 season was the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Likely’s least-productive in Baltimore, as he caught just 27 passes.
SB Nation’s Dawgs By Nature expects the Cleveland Browns, with former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as head coach, to be a bidder for Likely.
Spotrac expects Likely’s market value to be somewhere in the range of two years, $17.6 million, an average of $8.8 million per year.
Pro Football Focus ranks Likely No. 81 on its list of the top 250 free agents set to enter the market:
Likely had a down year in 2025 but ranked earned an eighth-ranked 77.1 PFF receiving grade in 2024. It’s worth noting that he was likely hindered in 2025 by a foot injury suffered in training camp. Given that Likely will be just 26 years old when the 2026 campaign begins, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him have a big market in free agency.
Would you rather see the Giants keep Bellinger, or add Likely? Let us know in the comments.
