PALM BEACH, Fla. – John Mara said Sunday that the Giants aren’t “shopping” Saquon Barkley but the co-owner won’t “interfere” if GM Joe Schoen wants to trade the running back.
“We’re not shopping Saquon, but Joe’s the general manager,” Mara said at The Breakers luxury oceanside resort. “If he and the head coach want to make a personnel decision and have a conviction about it, I’m not gonna interfere with it. But that’s not something we’re actively looking to do, let’s put it that way.”
It’s interesting that Mara said the Giants aren’t shopping Barkley, 25. The team was floating Barkley’s name to other teams at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis a month ago, according to league sources.
If the Giants are backing off on trading Barkley, many sources believe it’s because the hypothetical return in any trade was coming in too low for the team’s liking. At the combine, sources believed the Giants would only be able to get a fifth-rounder if they ate some of Barkley’s $7.2 million cap hit.
Mara said Barkley’s marketability would not be a factor in trying to keep him in New York in his fifth NFL season just to put a few extra fans in the seats.
“I’m certainly conscious of that but I don’t think it’s a major factor,” Mara said. “At the end of the day, [I want us to] put the best possible team on the field and build for the future. So I like him. He’s been a great representative for us. I still think he’s a really good player. He could potentially have a very big year this year. But at the end of the day the head coach and general manager make those decisions.”
