Did New York Giants Try to Trade Saquon Barkley?
The New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley have reached a truce in their contract standoff after the team signed the running back to a one-year franchise tag deal that they sweetened a bit.
But according to Pro Football Talk, the two sides were headed for a breakup earlier this spring when the Giants supposedly agreed to a trade request by Barkley's representation after the two sides couldn't get a deal done by the franchise tag deadline.
Writes PFT's Mike Florio:
Per multiple sources, the Giants called a dozen teams to find a potential trade partner back in the March/April time frame. The calls came at the request of Barkley’s representation.
The Giants found no takers. It’s unclear what they wanted. We're told that Barkley was trying to get a contract that pays something in the range of $15 million to $16 million per year.
Barkley and agent Kim Miale denied an earlier report of the running back seeking $16 million per year. Barkley, using the blue cap emojis that represent a falsehood, has also shot down other reports regarding his contract saga, including this latest one by PFT.
With all due respect to PFT, the report doesn't make sense, not after the Giants brass, from head coach Brian Daboll to assistant general manager Brandon Brown, to Schoen to co-owner John Mara, all emphasized that they wanted Barkley a Giant for life a sentiment Barkley himself repeated.
Mara, at the spring league meetings, told reporters that there was no desire to shop, let alone trade Barkley.
“I don’t want to trade him,” Mara said. “We’re not looking to trade him. We’re not shopping him. And I’d be very surprised if we made that decision.”
If there were plans to trade the running back, it's more likely the Giants wouldn't have been so emphatic in their feelings toward Barkley, nor would they have bothered to resume negotiations as the deadline approached. Schoen told reporters after the draft that he had planned to check in with Barkley's representation at the time--hardly a move to be made if the team was looking to trade him.
But here's the biggest tell-tale sign that the Giants were not seriously looking to trade Barkley. By placing the franchise tag on him, they were willing to accept two first-round picks for the running back. With no one having come knocking to offer that, why would the Giants accept anything less than the tag amount?
The answer is they wouldn't, so the report sounds off. However, the New York Post reported that the Dolphins did place a call to the Giants to inquire if Barkley was available, only to find out, by way of the Giants' reported asking price (again believed to be at least two first-round picks as per the tag's compensation), that he really wasn't.
Was there frustration on the part of the Giants with how the negotiations went? Perhaps. But clearly not enough to stop the Giants from putting another couple of offers on the table leading up to the July 17 deadline--or coming up with a creative offer to sweeten the franchise tag to ensure Barkley reported to camp on time.
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