NEW YORK (AP) — Much has changed since Micah McFadden last played for the New York Giants.
They lost 13 of 17 games including the season opener, during which he got hurt 11 snaps in, and overhauled their entire staff, with John Harbaugh taking over as coach and Dennard Wilson running the defense. Plenty more additions are coming, but McFadden on Wednesday signed a one-year deal worth up to $5.75 million to return, eager to show what he can do after recovering from a Lisfranc injury to his right foot.
“I had spoke with the coaching staff and some people in the building over the weekend, and I knew that there was a possibility that they wanted me back, and I was excited to hear that from them,” McFadden said on a video call with reporters. “I’m excited to be back. I’m excited to play with everybody that’s been here and the guys that we’ve already brought in this offseason and continue to bring in.”
McFadden, 26, is among the holdovers, a homegrown prospect who has been with the team since getting drafted in the fifth round in 2022. The newcomers on defense include fellow linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and defensive backs Greg Newsome and Ar'Darius Washington.
Along with tight end Isaiah Likely and fullback Patrick Ricard on offense and All-Pro punter Jordan Stout on special teams, Washington also is following Harbaugh to the Giants from Baltimore.
Edge rushers Brian Burns and Abdul Carter are not going anywhere, but the inside linebacker position is getting a makeover. Team captain Bobby Okereke was released in a move that saves salary cap space, and Edmunds signed a three-year, $36 million contract as part of filling the void.
"Bringing in Tremaine I think was a great addition," McFadden said. “He’s a great player, great athlete, and I’m excited to get out on the field with him — just learn from him and learn this defense with him and kind of put this thing together.”
New York ranked 28th out of 32 teams on defense in 2025, though there was some improvement down the stretch after interim coach Mike Kafka fired coordinator Shane Bowen and promoted Charlie Bullen for the remainder of the season.
McFadden hopes to fit into Wilson's scheme. He has some familiarity with it from assistants who have worked under Harbaugh. He does not expect to have any restrictions or limitations on his injured foot when spring workouts begin next month.
"Doing great — I’ve improved a lot," McFadden said. “I'm going to go out there, compete and go and try and win a starting job, go put my best foot forward during this offseason and into training camp and we’ll see where it falls after that.”
In the first big surprise of the offseason, Evan Neal is back. The 2022 seventh pick as a tackle who was moved to guard last season but never played because of a mix of losing a camp competition and getting injured figured to look for a change of scenery.
The regime change to Harbaugh, and an offense overseen by new coordinator Matt Nagy, is a different kind of fresh start for a player who's just 25. It remains to be seen whether his future with the organization is at guard or back at tackle, where he played at Alabama and during his first three NFL seasons.
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FILE - Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman (7) runs with the ball past New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden (41) during an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
FILE - New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden (41) practices at the team's NFL football training camp in East Rutherford, N.J., Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
SAO PAULO (AP) — Oscar Schmidt, the Basketball Hall of Famer known to his Brazilian compatriots as the “Holy Hand,” died Friday. He was 68.
Schmidt’s family said in a statement that he fought a brain tumor for 15 years “with courage, dignity and resilience . . . while remaining a role model of determination, generosity and love of life. Oscar leaves a legacy that transcends sport and inspires generations of athletes and admirers in Brazil and worldwide.”
Earlier, Hospital e Maternidade Municipal Santa Ana in the city of Santana de Parnaiba, outside metropolis Sao Paulo, said Schmidt’s family requested privacy without elaborating.
Schmidt is beloved in Brazil for committing to the national team for 19 years and becoming one of the most prolific scorers in basketball history. He also starred in an historic victory over the United States in the final of the 1987 Pan American Games.
“The biggest player of Brazilian basketball history bids farewell as an absolute symbol of sport, the holder of a trajectory that redefined the boundaries of what was possible in a court,” the Brazil Basketball Confederation said in a statement. “His death closes an era. But his greatness remains.”
Schmidt, who didn't playing in the NBA, began his professional career in 1974 and most of it was at home and Italy, where he became a childhood idol of future great Kobe Bryant.
In 1984 the NBA’s New Jersey Nets drafted him in the sixth round and he trained with them but declined a contract. At the time NBA players were not allowed to play for national teams. Schmidt said he had no regrets at his Hall of Fame induction.
“I was the choice (No,) 144,” he said. His idol Larry Bird laughed next to him. “They came to offer me a no-cut contract to play for the New Jersey Nets. I said thank you very much but if I play one game here I will never again play for my national team.
“Three years later we beat the Americans here in the U.S. Sorry, that was the greatest thing I did in basketball.”
Bird released a statement Friday, saying: “I always admired Oscar and considered him a friend. He was, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever play the game. It was an honor of a lifetime when Oscar asked me to present him at his well deserved induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. My sincere condolences to Oscar’s family.”
Portland Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter and NBA champion Anderson Varejao, two Brazilians in the league, mourned Schmidt in their social media channels.
Standing 2.03 meters (6-foot-8), he was a keen 3-point shooter in the 1980s when many coaches advised against it. That earned him the nickname “Mão Santa” (Holy Hand). Schmidt didn’t believe he was worthy of the tag.
“I don’t have a holy hand. I have a trained hand,” Schmidt used to say in interviews.
He debuted for Brazil at 19 in 1977 and made 326 appearances, averaging 23.6 points per game.
He played in a record-tying five Olympics and four World Cups. He’s the all-time leading scorer in both tournaments. He still has seven of the 10 highest scoring games in Olympic history and he holds the single-game records for points scored in the Olympics (55 vs. Spain in 1988) and World Cup (52 vs. Australia in 1990).
“More than results and medals, Oscar represented values that define the Olympic spirit; dedication, resilience and respect to the opponents,” Brazil’s Olympic committee said in a statement.
The 1987 Pan Am Games victory in Indianapolis marked the first time a U.S. team lost a major international tournament on home soil. Brazil won 120-115 and Schmidt led with 46 points.
Schmidt retired in 2003 at 45. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be the unofficial career highest scorer and his known tally of 49,737 points for club and country was eclipsed by LeBron James in 2024.
“For decades, he united the country around the courts with unforgettable shots and indisputable leadership,” Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on social media. “His dedication elevated the name of the country and made him an inspiration for generations of athletes and sports lovers.”
Schmidt was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
After retirement, Schmidt became one of his country’s most popular motivational speakers. He often talked about his battle with the brain tumor diagnosed in 2011, his love for Brazil and basketball.
Schmidt is survived by wife Maria Cristina Victorino, whom he married in 1981, and two children. One of them, Filipe, spoke about his father’s death on social media.
“Now you rest in peace, dad. You are in the hall of fame of life,” he said.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Brazil's Oscar Schmidt (14) drives past Scottie Pipen (8) of the United States during the quarterfinals of basketball competition at the Centennial Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, July 30, 1996. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk, File)
FILE - Brazil's former basketball player Oscar Schmidt shows a miniature basketball containing the name of a country during the draw for the London 2012 Olympic men's basketball tournament in Rio de Janeiro, April 30, 2012. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, File)
FILE - Inductee Oscar Schmidt, of Brazil, speaks during the enshrinement ceremony for this year's class of the Basketball Hall of Fame, at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 8, 2013. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - Inductee Oscar Schmidt, of Brazil, speaks during the enshrinement ceremony for the 2013 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 8, 2013. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
