Conventional wisdom in the NFL is that you pay quarterbacks and replace running backs. The former is cherished. The latter is replaceable.
Perhaps that’s what ultimately led the New York Giants mastermind to make one of the most mindless decisions in recent league history: doubling down on quarterback Daniel Jones despite the lack of evidence of his ability, leaving them themselves were left without the means. keep running back Saquon Barkley, who is redefining value at his position.
Ultimately, it will cost everyone their jobs, after already costing the Giants (2-8) another season.
Jones was benched Monday as backup Tommy DeVito, presumably ending Jones’ six seasons in New York with a dismal 22-44-1 record as a starter.
Barkley, meanwhile, is in Philadelphia, coming off a 146-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance (plus another 52 receiving yards) in a win over Washington, as the 8-2 Eagles, who came in to outbid the Giants last season, dream of the Super Bowl.
Barkley, with 1,137 rushing yards and 10 totals on the season, is a reasonable addition to any MVP conversation in the league.
Make no mistake, one decision led to another: a series of NFC East dominoes where the smart make the difference against the confused.
After the 2022 season, the Giants wanted to sign long-term deals with Jones and Barkley, or place a franchise tag. Jones was the result of a draft selection at sixth overall in 2019 out of Duke. He had done little to show that he deserved a contract extension. New York was coming off a playoff appearance, including a wild-card win over the weekend, but Jones’ production didn’t seem to be the reason: just 15 touchdowns that season. In the 31-7 playoff loss to Philly, he threw for only 135 yards and no touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Barkley was not only the face of the Giants’ franchise, but the heart of it: an otherworldly skilled back. He had rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 scores and as a key to the Giants’ offense, he undoubtedly played a huge role in the success Jones had.
Yet it was Jones who the Giants dropped on a four-year extension worth up to $160 million, leading to a $47.855 million salary cap hit for the 2024 season, according to Spotrac.com.
That same offseason, the Giants offered Barkley a three-year deal that was just $13 million, according to the New York Post. Only $19.5 million was guaranteed. Barkley refused. The Giants franchise tagged him for the 2023 season (for $10.1 million for the season), but after struggling with injuries, the relationship between player and front office had soured.
New York told Barkley to test the free agent market and they would consider matching the best offer. Seemingly sensing that the situation could backfire, Giants owner John Mara told general manager Joe Schoen on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” that “I’m going to have trouble sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia.”
Schoen was counting on limited interest in a 27-year-old running back. He was wrong. Philly outbid Houston and Chicago, offering a three-year, $37.75 million contract, with $26 million guaranteed (more than New York was willing to give a season earlier).
The giants were cooked.
Barkley was cast as a villain by New York fans, but he ended up getting a lot more guaranteed money and doesn’t seem to have lost a step.
If anything, making it to a team with championship aspirations has revitalized his career. It had only been two weeks. After all, he jumped backwards over a defender, showing that his athletic skills haven’t disappeared.
Jones has been a mess this season without his star ball carrier. His completion percentage has dropped from 67.5 percent the season before to 63.3 percent and he has thrown seven interceptions against just eight touchdowns.
While Barkley averages 5.8 yards per carry in Philly, the entire Giants run game without him is just 4.4 yards per attempt.
Most notably, the Giants recently lost to lowly Carolina.
Jones is now on the bench, and barring injury, it’s unlikely he’ll ever throw a pass in a Giants uniform again. What exactly made New York believe in a quarterback who never showed much over a running back who did everything remains a mystery. Had it franchised Jones for the 2023 season and then moved on after he played just six games due to injury, New York could have tried to get involved with the rich quarterback draft class last spring — six of the top twelve selections .
Instead, the Giants will enter this offseason with a high draft pick, but few exciting QB options coming out of college. Scouts told Yahoo’s Charles Robinson that this could be a historically weak group of passers.
Positional value is one thing, but teams can’t work solely on a spreadsheet. At some point, the true value – on the field, in complementing the productivity of others and in the locker room – must be recognized.
The Giants went big on Daniel Jones and tried to cut back on Saquon Barkley.
Now everyone in New York will be out of a job, while the running back continues to sprint for more daylight, with more money, in Philly.
