Isaiah Likely Never Had a 500-Yard Season. The Giants Bet $40 Million That Wasn't the Point.
Likely never became a full-time featured receiver in Baltimore. When his workload grew, his production usually followed. The Giants are paying $40 million to see what happens if the larger role lasts.
Isaiah Likely caught six passes during live drills at the Giants' joint practice with Miami on Thursday, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, who wrote on X that Likely has "quickly developed into Dart's security blanket and favorite receiver."
It wasn't the first sign of that connection.
Giants.com's Aug. 17 practice report had Dart finding Likely for a deep completion along the sideline and again for a touchdown on a quick out during a no-huddle period. Two days earlier, in the preseason opener against Minnesota, Likely caught both passes thrown to him for 11 yards. Both receptions moved the chains, according to giants.com and Big Blue Interactive.
It is August, and none of those numbers mean much by themselves. But they fit a pattern that followed Likely through four seasons in Baltimore.
He has never caught 50 passes in a season. He has never reached 500 receiving yards. He has also had several stretches when a larger workload produced much bigger numbers.
The Giants are paying to find out whether those stretches can become a full season.
Four years behind Mark Andrews
Baltimore selected Likely in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of Coastal Carolina. He entered a tight end room led by Mark Andrews, who had made two Pro Bowls in the previous three seasons and was coming off a 107-catch, 1,361-yard season.
Likely caught 36 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie.
His totals climbed to 30 catches for 411 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, then 42 for 477 and six touchdowns in 2024. Last season, after fracturing a bone in his foot during training camp and undergoing surgery, he finished with 27 catches for 307 yards and one touchdown.
His route totals remained relatively limited throughout that run. SumerSports counted roughly 248 routes in 2022, 280 in 2023, 310 in 2024 and about 240 last season.
| Season | Rec | Yds | TD | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 36 | 373 | 3 | ~248 |
| 2023 | 30 | 411 | 5 | ~280 |
| 2024 | 42 | 477 | 6 | ~310 |
| 2025 | 27 | 307 | 1 | ~240 |
Andrews remained Baltimore's starting tight end throughout Likely's four years there.
That changed temporarily in November 2023.
Six games without Andrews
Andrews fractured his fibula and suffered ligament damage to his ankle against Cincinnati in Week 11. He did not play again until the AFC Championship Game.
Likely's workload increased.
Over Baltimore's final six regular-season games, he caught 21 passes for 322 yards and five touchdowns.
Those six games accounted for 70% of his receptions that season, nearly 80% of his receiving yards and every touchdown he scored.
Over a 17-game season, that six-game rate would work out to more than 900 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. It is not a projection — six games is too small a sample for that — but it shows how different Likely's production looked when Baltimore needed more from him.
Andrews returned for the playoffs, then returned as the starter in 2024.
Likely still opened that season with the best receiving game of his career.
Nine catches in Kansas City, then back to the rotation
Baltimore opened the 2024 season at Kansas City. Likely was targeted 12 times and caught nine passes for 111 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown.
He nearly scored again on the final snap. Replay showed his toe out of bounds on what initially appeared to be a touchdown that would have given Baltimore a chance to tie the game.
"I thought Isaiah played a great football game," John Harbaugh said afterward, per WMBF News.
Likely never approached that workload again.
He finished the season with 42 catches for 477 yards and six touchdowns. The 111 yards in Kansas City accounted for almost a quarter of his receiving yardage for the entire season.
Andrews stayed healthy and caught 55 passes for 673 yards and 11 touchdowns. Baltimore continued using both tight ends, and Likely finished with a 13.65% target share, according to SumerSports.
The Kansas City game showed what Likely could do with 12 targets. Baltimore never gave him 12 again that year.
The 2025 season clouded the picture
Likely fractured a bone in his foot during training camp last July and underwent surgery. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported at the time that he was expected to miss roughly six weeks.
He returned and played 14 games, but his production fell to career lows: 27 catches, 307 yards and one touchdown.
The efficiency did not collapse across the board. His 75% catch rate matched his career high, and PFF charged him with one drop.
His opportunity did decline. His route total fell back to roughly 240, according to SumerSports.
The season does not offer a clean answer about why. Likely was coming back from foot surgery. Andrews remained Baltimore's starter. Likely's receiving role was smaller than it had been a year earlier.
Baltimore then chose to keep Andrews.
According to the Ravens' team website, general manager Eric DeCosta negotiated with Likely's representatives but could not reach a new deal. Likely became a free agent in March.
The Giants moved quickly.
Why $40 million for a tight end with 477 yards as a career high?
The Giants signed Likely on March 12 to a three-year, $40 million contract that can reach $47.5 million with incentives.
Over The Cap lists $20.5 million fully guaranteed at signing, with another $5.5 million scheduled to vest in March 2027. Baltimore's team website described the deal at the time as making Likely one of the NFL's highest-paid tight ends.
The Giants knew exactly what they were buying.
Harbaugh coached Likely for all four of his seasons in Baltimore. This was not a new staff projecting from college tape or paying for one breakout year. Harbaugh had watched Likely play behind Andrews, watched him take over when Andrews was injured and watched him produce 111 yards when Baltimore fed him 12 targets in Kansas City.
The contract says the Giants believe there is more there than 477 yards.
That does not necessarily mean Likely will dominate the tight end targets in New York. Theo Johnson is coming off a 45-catch, 528-yard, five-touchdown season, all career highs. The Giants have two tight ends who can catch the ball, and how Matt Nagy uses them will matter as much as any August depth chart.
But Likely has already started drawing Dart's attention.
At an Aug. 4 press availability, Likely described himself as a player who can line up anywhere.
"I've called myself a chess piece before," he said.
Two weeks later, Raanan reported six catches in live work against Miami and called him the quarterback's security blanket.
Likely never ran more than about 310 routes in a season in Baltimore. He never topped 477 receiving yards. When Andrews was unavailable, or when Baltimore briefly treated Likely like a featured receiver, his numbers changed quickly.
The Giants gave him $40 million anyway.
Now they get to find out what those numbers look like if the opportunity stops being temporary.