When the New York Giants decided to pay quarterback Daniel Jones over running back Saquon Barkley, many thought it would be a moment the Giants looked back on and regretted to some degree. In the Monday Night Football broadcast between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman reminded each viewer how poorly the Giants handled that situation.

“John Mara's gotta be so sick of that clip and hearing about, ‘I'm not gonna be able to sleep if [Saquon Barkley] goes to Philly.' Well, he's in Philly, and he looks like one of the best running backs ever to visit this planet,” Buck said during Monday night's broadcast.

After Buck finished, Aikman joined in, pointing out an even more painful part of the Giants' situation.

“And they decided to keep Daniel Jones,” Aikman said. “Now, they don't have either.”

Not only was losing Barkley a tough pill to swallow for the Giants, but they lost Barkley because they decided to keep Daniel Jones. Had the Giants not signed Jones to a four-year deal worth $160 million, they would've likely had the money to sign Barkley.

Sure, the quarterback is an important position to lock down for the future, but not when they perform poorly for most of his NFL career before being paid.

Joe Buck, Troy Aikman reiterate Giants' regret over Saquon Barkley mismanagement

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) gives the game ball to a young fan after scoring his second touchdown of the game during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium.
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There are so many reasons why the Giants will regret how they handled Barkley's future with the team.

For starters, the team's general manager was on the record saying how sick he'd be if the Giants lost Barkley to their divisional rivals, which ended up happening. Then, the player they decided to keep over Barkley plays so poorly that he's released a year later.

The cherry on top is that Barkley is having an incredible year with the Philadelphia Eagles just one season after the Giants let him walk in free agency.

Following his 255-yard performance against the Los Angeles Rams, Barkley has rushed for a league-leading 1,392 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 126.5 yards per game.

Regarding his yards per game, this would come in as the best season of Barkley's career by a significant margin. Outside of 2024, Barkley's best average per-game yardage in a season was in 2022 when he averaged 82 yards per game.

Now, Barkley's faced some significant injuries in his career, but for the price of $37.75 million over three years, the Giants are likely kicking themselves over the poor decision-making surrounding this situation.

And if they weren't before Monday night, they definitely are after hearing Buck and Aikman drag them during the broadcast.