Giants have no one to blame but themselves when it comes to contract talks
The New York Giants wanted continuity in their backfield heading into 2023. With a fresh regime coming off an overachieving year, it didn't seem right to break up the duo of Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones. But what if there was a better way to go about keeping them around? One that didn't involve the […]
The New York Giants wanted continuity in their backfield heading into 2023.
With a fresh regime coming off an overachieving year, it didn't seem right to break up the duo of Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones.
But what if there was a better way to go about keeping them around? One that didn't involve the criticism of the Jones extension and the drama of the Barkley franchise tag refusal. That scenario actually exists:
John Middlekauff is the host of the Three and Out Podcast on the Volume Sports Network. Before he took a career in broadcasting, he scouted for the Philadelphia Eagles in their pro department and then as a west coast area scout. He may not have been working the phone in contract negotiations, but he has a good idea of what determines a good process:
"If Daniel Jones is just a top 15 starting quarterback and I'm paying him basically $80 million over a couple-year period…Is it a little more than I'd like to pay? For sure, but can my team easily make the playoffs? 100 percent," said Middlekauff.
"I think that's the way they (Giants front office) look at it. Now I think we could argue with how they went about it. "If Daniel Jones had hit the market, if they had flipped it, or excuse me, if they had franchise-tagged Daniel Jones and let Saquon hit the market, is someone paying Saquon Barkley like a three or four-year contract?"
"I have a hard time seeing that. Now if Daniel Jones had hit the open market, Is anyone going to give him $80 million over two years? Potentially, and just because he's a quarterback and teams are desperate. A team like the Raiders, maybe they say you know what? Let's do it."
Hindsight is always 20-20 and perhaps Jones would have declined to sign the tag, and the same saga going on with Saquon would be unfolding with Daniel Jones, only the nth degree because he's a quarterback and they draw more attention.
But using the tag on Jones and then striking a deal with Barkley fresh off an emotional season could have prevented all of the fodder surrounding the franchise this offseason.
Even the staunchest supporters of Daniel Jones (myself included) would agree that another "prove it" year in Brian Daboll's system would have benefited New York in terms of determining if they really have the franchise guy at signal caller.
Instead, that tag was used on a player that they know is a franchise back when he (Barkley) could have been more easily persuaded in February or March as opposed to where we stand now in June and July.
The Giants are known for being one of the more loyal franchises around. Owner John Mara wants to take care of his guys, especially homegrown talent that was drafted using valuable capital.
And while that's admirable, sometimes business can be tricky, and Giants fans are seeing that firsthand this offseason.
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Featured image via: © Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
