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New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley burst onto the scene as a rookie out of Penn State back in 2018, taking the NFL by storm. Coming into that year's draft, the Nittany Lions halfback was tabbed as a “generational prospect”, with then-Giants general manager Dave Gettleman going as far to say that his own “grandmother could have scouted Barkley.” Well, Saquon made his GM- and his GM's grandmother- look pretty good in year one, as he totaled over 2000 scrimmage yards while winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. It gave New York fans a tantalizing glimpse of what Barkley could become in the NFL. Unfortunately, the star running back has yet to find that form since the 2018 season. Barkley has yet to play a full season since that incredible year, succumbing to ankle and knee injuries over the last three campaigns. His inability to find the form that made him a Pro Bowl-level talent has raised questions about his future in New York. This was before the arrival of new general manager Joe Schoen.
Since being hired, Schoen has stressed the importance of New York freeing up cap space this offseason while mentioning that such an endeavor would require tough decisions to be made. Barkley, whose potential removal from the roster would create as much as $7 million in cap space, has been the subject of recent trade speculation. Schoen, who was recently at the NFL Combine, was asked about the possibility of trading Barkley and left the door open for such a move. There are certainly reasons for the Giants to trade Barkley. However, they should keep the talented halfback on the roster for 2022. Here are three reasons why the Giants should not trade Barkley this offseason.
3 Reasons Why Giants Should Not Trade Saquon Barkley
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3. There's a chance that we haven't seen the best of Barkley yet
Admittedly, the last few seasons have been tough for Barkley. He has, at times, looked like a shell of himself out there. However, Barkley is still just 25 years old and doesn't have a ton of mileage on his legs. While lower body injuries have certainly taken their toll on his body, it's still rare to see an NFL running back drafted as high as Barkley have yet to exceed 300 carries four years into their career. Simply put, Saquon has juice left in his legs and the Giants would be wise to find out just how much he has left. There's something to be said for Barkley, who is in perhaps his darkest hour as a professional football player, using these tough times as fuel to his fire. If he's healthy and able to adopt that mindset, who knows what he could accomplish?
2. The Giants might not find a suitable trade they like
Not because teams are low-balling the Giants. In fact, recent rumors are suggesting that it could be quite the opposite. One NFL insider said he believed that Schoen would want a first-round pick in exchange for the talented running back, leading him to believe that New York was just posturing with their talks of trading the Penn State product. If those rumors are to be believed, then it's highly unlikely that the Giants actually trade Barkley this offseason. Other NFL teams likely don't view Barkley as a must-have asset at the moment, while these rumors make it seem like Schoen would be valuing him as the generational prospect he was once tabbed as. With both parties seemingly disagreeing on the value, an actual trade would not just be difficult to make happen. It wouldn't even be worth attempting.
1. Barkley hasn't gotten a fair chance
Giants owner John Mara stood up at the podium shortly after he hired Schoen to be the new general manager and spoke about how he believes the franchise has “done everything possible” to screw up quarterback Daniel Jones. The same could be said for Barkley. New York's offensive line play has been among the worst in the NFL since 2018. Barkley has routinely been among the NFL's worst in the statistic, yards before contact. In other words, the number of yards a back is able to pick up before he is hit by a defender. The Giants star's numbers have often been so poor due to the fact that he simply hasn't had the time to even make a move before he is hit at the line of scrimmage. Barkley does deserve some of the blame for making bad reads at times, though make no mistake- this is largely a problem of the Giants offensive line. If New York can bring in at least two- or even three- new, skilled offensive lineman through free agency and the draft, Giants fans should see a very different version of Barkley in 2022.
