Giants icon rips club over letting Saquon Barkley go to Eagles

While many defended New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen throughout 2024 for letting running back Saquon Barkley reach free agency last March, that decision now haunts the team after Barkley joined the rival Philadelphia Eagles and helped them win Super Bowl LIX.

During a recent conversation with Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, Giants icon and one-time Super Bowl champion Amani Toomer discussed Schoen failing to lock Barkley down on a multiyear deal. 

"When you get a guy like Saquon," Toomer explained, "...and just because he plays running back — and you don’t have the creativity to figure out how to make that running back, [how to] have that best player be the focal point of your offense — I have a problem with that. Because that’s not how my experience or any of the older players' experience with the Giants was. If you can play, you’re gonna stay here." 

Barkley was undeniably the most valuable offensive player on the 2022 Giants team that reached the playoffs and won a road postseason game. He later reportedly rejected a contract offer worth $13M per season and $26M over that deal's first two campaigns before his rights for 2023 were retained via the franchise tag. 

Some criticized the Eagles last March for "overpaying" Barkley, a veteran running back with a noteworthy injury history, to a three-year, $37.75M contract with $26M fully guaranteed. That deal now seems to be a bargain, considering Barkley quickly became a leader, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, a finalist for the regular-season Most Valuable Player Award and a Super Bowl champion. 

"That’s a cultural problem," Toomer said about the Giants not holding onto key figures like Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney, who enjoyed stellar 2024 seasons with different clubs. "And you can draft whoever you want. We could have drafted Patrick Mahomes. If that culture is not there, that’s a big problem." 

It's widely believed that Giants co-owner John Mara will fire Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll if the team endures a third consecutive losing season. Toomer essentially confirmed during his chat with Leonard that, depending on how the Giants are viewed by December, Mara could be ready to blow things up before the 2025 campaign ends. 

"There should be nobody comfortable in that building," Toomer added. "...I know the owner’s not happy. I know that for a fact. I know that the front office isn’t happy."

One wonders if Mara's unhappiness could cause Schoen to actively pursue a trade for Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams. Giving up draft assets for a quarterback in the twilight of his career probably doesn't make much sense for a team that is in the middle of a roster rebuild that will not be completed by next season's start.