John Mara listened to Joe Schoen explain his plan for Saquon Barkley: let the running back hit free agency, and then only maybe match his best offer.
Mara paused for two seconds, looked out the window for a moment and spoke.
“I mean, in a perfect world, I’d still like to have him back, until we can prove that we can have a decent offense without him,” the Giants co-owner said.
This was the defining moment and sentiment of Tuesday night’s debut episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants.”
Schoen, the Giants’ third-year GM, was portrayed as the early driving voice behind Barkley’s departure based on his beliefs about Barkley, the running back position’s value, the 2024 free agent market and Daniel Jones’ needs to succeed.
Mara, director of player personnel Tim McDonnell and other front office executives, meanwhile, challenged the GM’s intentions and conclusions at various turns in early offseason meetings.
“If we lose Saquon, right, what’s our identity going to be on offense now?” McDonnell said in a meeting. “And what’s our plan? What’s the next step of that, I guess is what I’m thinking. We’re losing a large part of our offense, our explosiveness, our touchdowns. Our quarterback, if it’s Daniel, depends on the run game.”
Schoen interjected.
“We’re gonna upgrade the offensive line, and you’re paying the guy $40 million,” the GM said. “It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back.”
Obviously the Giants had one of the worst offenses in the league last season, which is one reason Schoen had no problem shaking it up. Still, McDonnell’s point about losing their “touchdowns” was a key one (as he acknowledged Jones depends on the run game).
Schoen also told Mara his plan for moving on from Barkley included tight end Darren Waller, even though Waller was already contemplating retirement at that point.
And Schoen’s fatigue from the previous year’s contentious Barkley contract negotiations clearly were weighing on him as he prepared to move on this spring.
“It was 10 years off my life dealing with it,” Schoen said. “Emotionally [it] was draining, We spent a lot of time on it. But I don’t want that to be the reason we don’t do what’s best for the franchise.”
The GM even mocked what the media’s and public’s reactions would be if the Giants low-ball offered Barkley a contract in order to do a sign and trade.
“What are we really gonna get unless it got down to like $7 million, and I don’t want to offer that because I don’t wanna be like we ‘disrespected him,’” Schoen said, making a face and air quotes with his hands.
The first Hard Knocks episode, therefore, reinforced that Schoen has a lot riding on Barkley’s success or failure with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024. Because there was clearly more skepticism internally about moving on from the Giants’ face of the franchise than the public previously believed.
STAR OF THE SHOW: CHRIS ROSSETTI, DIRECTOR OF PRO SCOUTING
Rossetti came off as an impressive voice in the Giants’ front office. He accurately assessed Barkley’s market and showed conviction by standing up to Schoen in a critical meeting on the topic.
Rossetti: “Are we positive that nobody is going to pay him that kind of money?”
Schoen: “Who would you say would go sign a running back to that dollar amount?”
Rosetti: “I mean anyone that has money to spend.”
Schoen: “There’s a lot of running backs in free agency.”
Rosetti: “But are any potential difference makers really after you watch the film?”
Kevin Abrams, senior VP of football operations and strategy: “Even if Saquon’s No. 1 on your board, do you imagine anyone’s gonna have such a gap between Saquon and [Josh] Jacobs, [Tony] Pollard, [Derrick] Henry, whoever else, that they’re gonna want him at $13 million a year or minus whatever we’re willing to eat and send a draft pick?”
Rossetti: “Yep.”
In a larger free agent meeting, Rosetti projected Barkley would get the most money on the open running back market and presciently predicted: “Put him behind a Detroit offensive line, put him behind a Philly 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.”
Schoen doubted that the Eagles would commit those resources to a running back.
“Look at the teams that have running back as a need,” the GM said. “Because if you’re Philly, you’re thinking defensive back — where are you gonna allocate your funds?”
It’s encouraging that Schoen has a truth-teller like Rossetti working for him and standing his ground in major conversations. But the GM also needs to use that information to best help the team.
The 2024 season will demonstrate whether or not it did.
BIGGEST OMISSION
Last season’s dysfunction and the resulting exodus of Brian Daboll’s coaching staff is the biggest story impacting this franchise and team, but HBO spent only 20 seconds on Wink Martindale’s resignation in order to introduce new coordinator Shane Bowen. It made no mention of how many candidates the Giants went through before making that hire.
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
When Daboll told Schoen “I’m gonna offer” the defensive coordinator job “to Shane,” the GM responded: “Shane Bowen? OK.” Daboll then cited stats to highlight Bowen’s success stopping the run as a key reason why.
Personnel-wise, this episode created more questions about the defense than answers, too.
Schoen cited corner as one of the team’s biggest needs, but the biggest addition he made at that position this offseason was drafting Kentucky slot Dru Phillips in Round 3.
Bowen said his defense is structured by “having four elite pass rushers up front,” which is like a Major League Baseball manager saying he would like to have four Cy Young winners on staff.
Bowen then said on the current roster, he would like to see if Boogie Basham or Ryder Anderson could become that fourth guy. He also said “our two probably smartest positions have to be inside backers; that’s where the bulk of the load is gonna be put” — even though that position has been devalued in the modern NFL.
STRANGEST DETAIL
The HBO cameras showed the unusual acronym painted in the Giants’ auditorium: TRAIL. It stands for “trust, respect, accountability, integrity and loyalty,” but it’s definitely an odd acronym in a business where the goal is to win.
