(Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images for Stagwell)
The New York Giants made a tough decision this offseason, and some think it was the wrong one.
Saquon Barkley had been their best player since he stepped onto the field, and he wanted to be there for life.
Barkley and the Giants spent years — literally — trying to work something out, but it just seemed like the organization wasn’t actually that interested in keeping him around.
In the latest episode of Hard Knocks, they showed GM Joe Schoen actually letting Barkley know that he was going to become a free agent (via Ari Meirov).
Here’s the phone call between #Giants GM Joe Schoen and Saquon Barkley when he was told he would be allowed to become a free agent.
Schoen asked Barkley if he could get his word on circling back to them during the process.
This is tremendous access.pic.twitter.com/wxt19WoY3J
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 10, 2024
Barkley sounded kind of uncomfortable as soon as he picked up the call, and shortly after touching base with him, Schoen let him know that they would allow him to test the market so he could find out his value.
He then asked Barkley to give him his word about circling back with them and giving them an opportunity to at least make him an offer based on his market value, but the running back didn’t seem too happy about that.
Schoen claimed that the Giants wanted to let him know how much they appreciated everything he had done for them.
In the end, Barkley wound up joining their divisional rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, so it was more than evident that this whole situation rubbed him the wrong way.
Truth be told, it’s hard to blame him, as even then he told Schoen that he wanted to be a Giant for life.
At the end of the day, GMs have to make tough decisions, and he can just hope this doesn’t backfire.
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