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In 2024, HBO produced the first-ever offseason Hard Knocks with the New York Giants, but that appears to be a thing of the past, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.
Florio pushed back against the notion that social media ruined the series. He cited recent quotes from NFL Films vice president and head of content Keith Cossrow, who blamed clips of Saquon Barkley's contract negotiations going viral on social media for the show not returning in 2025.
“When that one or two clips about Saquon got removed and isolated and blew up on social media, and as we’ve seen, have taken on a life of their own, that certainly gives people pause in the NFL and in every other walk of life about doing these sorts of shows,” he explained. “It’s funny, we all want to go viral, right? Not for the wrong reasons, but it’s a measure of success in the world we live in today. But it can also go in directions that nobody can predict.”
However, Florio does not agree with that. He blames the Giants' “bad job of exercising their right to edit the episodes” for the series' disastrous run. Still, the choice made the offseason Hard Knocks with the Giants “far more compelling and raw and ultimately honest,” according to Florio.
Ultimately, Hard Knocks has transitioned back to being a safe show. Florio explains that “teams want infomercials,” resulting in their current season with the Buffalo Bills being rudimentary.
“Basically, the reality show was too real,” Florio further explained. “Teams want infomercials. Which is exactly why, quite frankly this season's preseason Hard Knocks with the Buffalo Bills has been largely worthless — with the grand total of zero viral moments.”
Still, the offseason Hard Knocks could return. Florio notes that NFL Films' Cossrow wouldn't rule out the possibility of another season someday. However, it would require more editing.
The Giants' offseason Hard Knocks
For the first time ever, HBO documented an NFL teams' offseason in Hard Knocks. Traditionally, Hard Knocks captures team's training camps and preseason games.
This shed more light on the inner-workings of an NFL front office. Giants general manager Joe Schoen's contract negotiations with Barkley were a focal point of the show.
Despite being drafted second overall by the Giants in 2018, Barkley left Big Blue during the 2024 offseason. He would go on to join their divisional rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, and win a Super Bowl in his first year with them.
