The Giants’ fork-in-the-road moment involving Saquon Barkley came nearly 18 months ago, when they re-signed Daniel Jones and slapped the franchise tag on their Pro Bowl running back minutes before the tag deadline. Another round of negotiations did not produce a deal, eventually leading the former Offensive Rookie of the Year to Philadelphia.
Jones’ four-year, $160MM deal — one that includes a fully guaranteed 2024 salary — changed the Giants’ path with Barkley, as could be expected. GM Joe Schoen expanded on that during the debut episode of HBO’s offseason Hard Knocks effort. As Giants front office staffers met with the third-year GM about Barkley’s status before free agency, Jones’ deal came up with regards to the team’s interest in paying Barkley.
[RELATED: Offseason In Review: New York Giants]
“We have to upgrade the offensive line and you’re paying [Jones] $40MM, and it’s not to hand the ball off to a $12MM back,” Schoen said (h/t Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post). “My plan is to address the offensive line at some point here in free agency. We’re sitting at 6, there’s a chance there’s an offensive weapon there. This is the year for Daniel.”
After skimping on guard investments last year, the Giants did beef up their O-line by signing Jon Runyan Jr. to a three-year, $30MM deal and adding Jermaine Eluemunor at two years and $14MM. Both are expected to start at guard, provided Evan Neal‘s rehab process concludes on time and his comeback bid at right tackle commences. They will be blocking for Jones and Devin Singletary, the Giants’ post-Barkley plan who had pre-Giants ties to Schoen and Brian Daboll from the parties’ Buffalo years.
Barkley said in the spring the Giants were not among the four teams who submitted an offer. In a meeting with John Mara earlier this year, Schoen said an offer in the Giants’ ballpark would run the risk of disrespecting the player who had operated as the team’s offensive centerpiece.
“We’re not gonna franchise him. It doesn’t make any sense to franchise him,” Schoen told Mara. “What are we really gonna get unless it got down to $7MM? I don’t want to offer that because I don’t want to be like we ‘disrespected him.’ There’s 31 teams and it only takes one to maybe be open to doing something. If it doesn’t get to that then, hey, we’re going to let you hit free agency. Find out your market, come back and let us know if we can match it. If we can,…