INDIANAPOLIS. The Giants didn’t choose Saquon Barkley to trade him.
Three years after former general manager Dave Gettleman uttered the infamous Odell Beckham Jr. trade market line that proved to be misleading, the Giants have returned to the NFL Scouting Union with another injury-plagued star caught up in the trade. gossip.
However, this is where the comparison ends.
According to the source, Barkley prefers to stay with the Giants even as they begin a new recovery process. A handful of agents, coaches, scouts and executives interviewed in Indianapolis agreed that the Giants need to deflate in order to trade Barkley, who is still the face of the franchise.
General manager Joe Shawn, who took over from Gettleman in January, said Tuesday the Giants are “open to everything” in response to a question that highlighted Barkley. This response has been misinterpreted in some corners of the viral news whirlwind to sound like Barkleys are being bought, which they are not.
Saquon Barkley chooses to stay with the Giants. Getty Images
Removing Barkley’s fully guaranteed $7.2 million salary would accelerate the Giants’ goal of a salary increase from $5.8 million over the ceiling to $40 million below the ceiling. But there are other complex factors to consider, such as having enough support talent to properly rank quarterback Daniel Jones, the message sent by exchanging the former second overall for his lowest value, and the attractiveness of a potential third. A round compensatory pick in the 2024 draft, gained by keeping him until the next off-season.
“If he was traded to a team with a decent offensive line,” one NFL coach said, “he could make them regret it.”
According to league sources, after two seasons shortened by knee and ankle injuries, Barkley’s value is now around a fourth-round pick with possibly an added late-round pick. While Beckham was worried that his dissatisfaction with his contract or ball requirements would have an adverse effect on the dressing room, the Giants see Barkley as a good teammate even if he is forced to play in his fifth year. option.
“The regime didn’t draft him, so it’s easier for them to cut ties,” said one NFL recruiting manager, “but the Giants want to bring a competitive team to the field.”
The focus of the Giants’ scouts at the mill was runners who would complement Barkley—and replace Devonte Booker, who was an unfortunate baseball cap player—not to take the lead. This puts pass defense – Barkley’s weakness – in the spotlight, and scouts value Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams (proposed mid-round pick) and Florida’s Dameon Pierce (proposed late-round pick) in this regard.
Dameon Pierce (left) and Kyren Williams (right) perform at an NFL training camp. USA TODAY Sports, AP
“If a linebacker tries to take me down, I’ll stick my nose in there because I’m such a footballer,” Williams said. “I grew up playing linebacker and quarterback in high school, so I don’t shy away from contacts. It’s a matter of mentality: I’m going to claim my dominance and let them know that I’m trying to be there in every game.”
On Friday, Pierce made the bench press news when he went for his 20th and final rep at 225 pounds. The observer was about to remove the post after 19, but Pearce yelled, “Don’t take that bitch,” as seen in a video circulated by Pro Football Focus.
“The whole time I was on pass defense, the quarterback didn’t get hit,” Pierce said bluntly. He described his fitness as “knowing how to take hits and how to throw punches. You will never see a broken hammer, but you will always see a bent nail. In short, be a hammer, not a nail.”
Pierce said he met at the combine with the Giants, who had three of last year’s assistant coaches (Russ Callaway, Sean Spencer and Rob Sale) just joined Florida’s staff. Convenient lines of communication.
“It’s really just a desire to be a passer or a runner,” Pierce said. “Everyone wants everything to look beautiful, but that’s not always the case.”