NFL rumors: Jerry Jones’ ‘big move’, Daniel Jones’ greed and nothing Gould can stay
By John Buhler
NFL rumors: Daniel Jones loves money so much, he is about to get himself tagged
Although the New York Giants are coming off a fantastic breakout season under new head coach Brian Daboll, the G-Men will have to play some four-dimensional chess to make the pieces fit in free agency. Yes, they have some cap space, but two of their best players are hitting free agency. Retaining running back Saquon Barkley is a no-doubter, but Daniel Jones may have to be tagged…
Jones’ representation met with Giants executives at the NFL combine in Indianapolis this weekend. Both parties ended talks without a deal in place. Although the Giants would prefer not to use the franchise tag on either Barkley or Jones, what other choices do they have really? Barkley played out his fifth-year option and would cost considerably less than what Jones would make on the tag.
What makes this situation so challenging is you never want the important pillars of your franchise to be up for mega deals at the same time. Jones not getting the fifth-year option, but having by far and away his best professional season under Daboll last year puts Giants general manager Joe Schoen between a rock and a hard place. Extending Jones makes sense, but not for $40 million.
There is still time for both parties to put pen to paper on a new deal, but they need to move fast.