The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX in the same season it snatched running back Saquon Barkley away from the division rival New York Giants. That was one of the biggest storylines of the year so, naturally, Giants brass is going to be asked about it every chance the media gets.
On Tuesday ahead of the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Giants general manager Joe Schoen hadn't even been at the podium for 10 seconds before he was asked about the 2024 NFL rushing champ. However, instead of stumbling through a non-answer or saying something brash, Schoen had a very diplomatic answer that put the subject to bed for the rest of his news conference.
"I'm happy for Saquon, obviously he went on to win the Super Bowl and we wish him nothing but the best. We were at a different place in our build."
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) February 25, 2025
- Joe Schoen on Saquon Barkley pic.twitter.com/wgJaQgGKuc
"I'm happy for Saquon," Schoen told reporters. "Obviously he went on to win the Super Bowl and we wish him nothing but the best. Always going to evaluate all the decisions we make and we were at a different place in our build."
Giants GM Joe Schoen handles Saquon Barkley post-season fallout with grace
Schoen clearly has egg on his face from his decision to let Barkley walk, especially since it resulted in a division rival winning the Super Bowl. But his answer on Tuesday addressed the Kelly Green elephant in the room and quickly put the issue to bed so that he could move on to the more pressing questions about the upcoming draft.
Improving upon last year's three-win season will be Schoen's priority, trying to find high-quality players coming out of college to help re-tool head coach Brian Daboll's roster.
Whether that means drafting a rookie quarterback, boosting the offensive line or enhancing the secondary will be seen in April but the message from Schoen in his first answer of the day was that he's been more than ready to move on from Barkley and the fallout from HBO's Hard Knocks: Offseason that documented the whole ordeal.
"No, I haven't gotten any calls on that, but I think I know what I would tell them," he said cleverly when asked if any teams have inquired about his experience with the show.
Fans learned a lot from those episodes but the now infamous ordeal in Giants fandom will live on as a reminder to Schoen and any future GM that their toughest decisions are sometimes best left to outsiders' speculation and imagination.