Joe Schoen: Giants Want Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley Back

Giants general manager Joe Schoen offered some insight into the team's hopes for their two biggest pending unrestricted free agents.

On Sunday, New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley, the team's two biggest unrestricted free agents, expressed an interest in returning to the team for 2023 and beyond.

That must have been music to general manager Joe Schoen's ears, as during his joint-year-end press briefing with head coach Brian Daboll, Schoen confirmed the team's interest in retaining the two most productive members of the team's 2022 offense.

"We'd like Daniel to be here," Schoen said, adding, "There's a business side to it, but we feel like Daniel played well this season. He's done everything that we asked him to do. 

"We still gotta have our meetings with our staff late in the week, and we'll devise an off-season plan, but we would like to have Daniel Jones back."

Daboll said he was pleased with the progress Jones made in 2022, which saw him set new personal bests in completion percentage (67.2 percent), passing yards (3,205), rushing yards (708), and won-loss record (9-6-1) while also setting a new career-low for interceptions (5). 

"He's done everything that we've asked him to do as an offensive staff, and he's done a really good job with operating and executing our offense, Daboll said. "I think he's made strides in a lot of different areas. Certainly, we can all make strides in more, but he's been a good leader for us. He's played a quarterback position well for us, and I'm happy we have him."  

Schoen didn't indicate if the team was interested in having Jones back on a short-term or longer-term deal, noting that the front office and coaching staff were planning to start their personnel meetings later in the week.

"We haven't crossed that bridge yet, but there are tools at our disposal. Again, we'll go through several scenarios," he said. "We'll get together as a staff, talk through the different options, and have those discussions."  

Schoen, who emphasized that he doesn't believe in the philosophy of a team ever being one player away, was asked if he thought the Giants could win a Super Bowl with Jones as its quarterback.

"We're happy Daniel's gonna be here," he said. "Hopefully we can get something done with his representatives. And that would be the goal – to build a team around him where he can lead us and win a Super Bowl." 

When it came to Barkley, Schoen, while also expressing a desire to have the running back remain a Giant, had a slightly different tone.

"This is a special team to me. We'd like to have all the guys back," he said. "But there's a business side to it and rules that you need to operate under in terms of the salary cap.

"Saquon--he's a good player, and he's a great teammate. I loved getting to know him this season; he's a guy we would like to have back. 

"We haven't had, you know, our end-of-season meetings yet. Everybody's gonna step back, take the emotion out of it, evaluate the roster, and we're gonna operate under a salary cap--how are you gonna divvy it up, how, how we're gonna create the roster what are the priority positions and how we're gonna move forward? But we would like to have Saquon back if it works out."  

The Giants could always place the franchise tag on Barkley, which would cost them just north of $10 million, and keep him under contract for another year if the two sides can't agree on a new deal. But that move would likely be contingent on whether they could lock up Jones before the March 7 franchise/transition tag deadline.

For the most part, running backs who get big second contracts typically don't get through them, creating dead money for the team to carry, which poses another question Schoen and the Giants must answer.   

"I mean, anybody can go out there and get hurt at any position. So I think that's the risk-reward," he said. "The good thing I feel extending people in-house: You know, their work ethic, you know, their durability, you know, their injury history, you know, how they train, you know, how they practice. So in terms of eliminating some of the margins for error, it's a known commodity."  

In the end, it comes down to money and if a deal can work for both sides.

"Saquon's done everything we've asked him to do, and he's a good football player," Schoen reiterated. "The positional value--we'll get into how we want to build this team and allocate our resources. And that's, that's what it comes down to." 

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