Giants Country

Giants GM Joe Schoen Has No Regrets Over Sticking to His Price Point During Saquon Barkley Negotiations

Schoen has no remorse for the way the team handled Barkley's negotiations.

Andrew Parsaud

Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Dabol, right, talks with general manager Joe Schoen, center, and president and CEO John Mara, right, during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility.
Jul 24, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Dabol, right, talks with general manager Joe Schoen, center, and president and CEO John Mara, right, during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Facility. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
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If it were up to New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen, he’d probably look for a way to keep as many of his good players as possible.

Unfortunately, the salary cap doesn’t allow for that, and one such decision made by Schoen that broke the hearts of Giants fans and team co-owner John Mara alike was the one to not be more aggressive this past free agency cycle when it came to re-signing running back Saquon Barkley, the face of the franchise.

Schoen, who did try to get a deal done with the running back before the 2023 training camp, decided not to go north of the APY set by the Eagles in their offer, putting the needs of the franchise first.

While Schoen probably hated to see Barkley go on a personal level, he told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams podcast that he has no regrets.

“No,” he said when Adams asked him if he would have done anything directly regarding this last round of contract negotiations with Barkley. 

“Both parties tried–remember, this started back in November 2022. We did go to him before anybody else–that was my first contract extension, the first player we approached from the Giants for a contract extension back in '22," Schoen said.

“Unfortunately, we were never able to get anything done, we wish Saquon nothing but the best." 

Even before Schoen was seen stressing on the Hard Knocks series over Barkley, he wrote his heart on his sleeve last summer when he spoke of the negotiations with the running back in trying to get him signed to a long-term deal only to have to settle for a modified franchise tag.

Despite the loss of Barkley, it's good to see Schoen sticking to his plan and not overvaluing a position he doesn't deem as valuable as others. Barkley was an integral part of the organization for several seasons and a large reason why they made the playoffs two seasons ago. 

However, Schoen mentioned that running backs decline after the age of 27, which Barkley just turned this year.

The question now becomes how they can replace his production. The Giants' run game has been centered around Barkley over the course of his career as the bell cow back. They also heavily leaned on Daniel Jones' legs during the 2022 season. They signed Devin Singletary in free agency to be the main ball carrier, but he won't do it alone.

One of the biggest training camp battles this summer is for the second running back spot behind Singletary. It'll come down to Eric Gray and rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. Barkley, who had 307 touches last season, left a large amount of opportunities for these three players to make an impact on offense.

The Giants' offense will look very different without Barkley suiting up for them this season, but Schoen isn't worried about that. Head coach Brian Daboll must craft the offense so that it survives the loss of its best player last season.

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Andrew Parsaud

ANDREW PARSAUD

Andrew Parsaud is currently attending Penn State, where he is studying digital journalism and media. He is an avid follower of the major New York sports teams. 

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