3 biggest mistakes from the NFL offseason

Biggest NFL offseason mistakes: Giants placed trust in Daniel Jones over Saquon Barkley

Within the past week, the New York Giants have clarified their intentions with Saquon Barkley. There was no long-term deal reached by the July 12 deadline, leaving a franchise tender worth $10.1 million in 2023 on the table for Barkley. While the Giants reportedly offered Barkley a deal worth $13 million per year, Barkley was looking forward to “Christian McCaffrey money”, which would have given him $16 million per year, according to Pro Football Talk.

Considering their options, the Giants first offered Barkley the long-term deal, then when Barkley refused, they signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million deal. It seems like a lot for Jones, who’s now earning an average of $40 million per year, but it’s comparable to what Derek Carr is earning for four years in New Orleans.

Paying Jones top dollar when his success is tied to Barkley’s performance makes it seem like New York should have prioritized appeasing their running back. While Jones can relax with ample compensation, Barkley has no long-term security at what’s proven to be an increasingly volatile position.

Barkley brought further attention to the Giants’ error in judgment when he publicly spoke out about potentially holding in this year while he works out a fairer deal with the team.

Paying the 2022 Pro Bowler less than Tony Pollard and Josh Jacobs doesn’t correspond with the impact he’s had on the Giants’ offense. In 2022, Barkley saw career highs with 295 attempts for 1,312 rushing yards. It’s Barkley’s first season since hs 2018 rookie campaign that hasn’t been marred by injury, which certainly could influence how willing the team is to secure the 26-year-old running back in a long-term deal.

But with that aside, the market is tanking for running backs, and it appears that no NFL team is willing to raise the bar and increase the value at the position — which is what happens to quarterback position every offseason. Salary caps are only growing, yet the value of running backs in today’s NFL is shrinking. If the Giants want to follow that trend by backing Jones over Barkley, they’ll find out soon enough in the regular season how Barkley’s barrelling allows the offense to flourish.