Eagles signing Saquon Barkley to a huge deal must've really caught Giants off-guard

On February 16, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen convened a meeting in his office to make a franchise-altering decision.

The decision-makers in the room were comprised of assistant general manager Brandon Brown, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell, director of pro scouting Chris Rossetti, assistant director of player personnel Dennis Hickey, senior vice president of football operations and strategy Kevin Abrams, director of football operations Ed Triggs, and manager of football administration Charles Tisch.

Suffice to say, the meeting was not being taking lightly. The Giants' decision-makers were gathered to determine the future of their difference-maker, running back Saquon Barkley.

HBO's "Hard Knocks" series will chronicle the Giants this offseason. Tuesday night's premiere episode offered a peek inside Schoen's meeting.

Giants' mishandling of Saquon Barkley is largely Joe Schoen's fault

Schoen, who made it clear that he was fatigued by contract negotiations with Barkley, wanted to allow the star running back to test the open market and consider matching his best offer. The highlight of the meeting — and perhaps the episode — was Rossetti correctly assessing Barkley's value and challenging the views of the team's general manager.

"Are we positive that nobody is going to pay him that kind of money?" Rossetti asked.

"Who would you say would go sign a running back to that dollar amount?" Schoen responded.

"Anyone that has money to spend," Rossetti said.

"There's a lot of running backs in free agency," Schoen retorted.

The free agency class of running backs was led by Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard, D'Andre Swift, Austin Ekeler, and Aaron Jones, among dozens of others. Schoen seemed to believe the large supply would drive down the market. Rossetti didn't believe those players measured up to Barkley, however.

"But are there any potential difference-makers after you watch this film?" Rossetti rebutted.

At one point, Schoen suggested the idea of a tag-and-trade situation in which the Giants would use the franchise tag designation on the running back for the second consecutive season before trading him to another team, but dismissed it as unrealistic.

In a free agency meeting later in the offseason, Rossetti continued to pound the table for Barkley.

"Put him behind a Detroit [Lions] offensive line, put him behind a [Philadelphia Eagles] offensive line, there might be more value to another team that they'd be willing to give up a pick or an asset to get him," said Rossetti, h/t Sporting News.

Rossetti, of course, was right. The Philadelphia Eagles signed running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.7 million contract with an average annual salary of $12.5 million.

Barkley was primed to have a fairytale career in New York. He was a Bronx native who was drafted by his hometown team. Off the field, he became a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for his community work and a five-time team captain for his leadership in the locker room. On the field, he ran with a style that was reminiscent of Barry Sanders, and he made his presence felt from the moment he touched the ball. Barkley set a rookie record with 91 receptions and logged seven games with 100-plus rushing yards en route to being named the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

But the NFL isn't in the business of fairytales. Schoen believed in centering the offense around quarterback Daniel Jones rather than Barkley.

"You're paying [Jones] $40 million," Schoen said. "It's not to hand the ball of to a $12 million [running] back."

The third-year general manager seemed to be more focused on market value and trends than he was on the fabric of his team. After all, the Giants offense was at its best when they handed the ball off to their running back — and it was Schoen's fault that he has a quarterback with a $40 million salary to begin with.

In 2022, Barkley served as the key cog in an offense that led the Giants to a playoff berth in 2022. Yet, Schoen rewarded Jones with a controversial four-year, $160 million contract and opted to place the franchise tag on Barkley instead. Even Giants players disagreed with the decision — it was evident that Barkley, not Jones, was the reason for New York's success.