Inheriting two downward-trending pieces on offense in 2022, the Joe Schoen-led front office is now negotiating with two players coming off bounce-back seasons. The Giants are days away from a date that could send one of them out of New York.
The team continues to negotiate with Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. Schoen said he has talked to the free agent-to-be (or soon-to-be-tagged) quarterback’s camp throughout the week but mentioned during a Good Morning Football appearance he wished the Giants and their QB were closer on terms (video link). Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to apply franchise tags, which the Giants will do if no Jones deal commences by then.
Jones’ talks have hovered over Barkley’s throughout the offseason, as the running back — despite beginning negotiations with the Giants before they were sold on Jones — represents the second domino here. The Giants offered Barkley a deal in the $12.5MM-per-year neighborhood — one Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb populate. Then again, those contracts were respectively agreed to in 2020 (Henry, Cook) and 2021 (Chubb). The salary cap has climbed to $224.8MM since, which could make Barkley signing for a similar amount a somewhat sobering (as far as eight-figure-per-year deals go, at least) transaction on his part.
While a report indicated the Giants moving to $14MM per year could probably finish this process, Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports adds Combine buzz suggests the team will not raise its offer from the $12.5MM-AAV place (Twitter link). When the Giants initially offered that, Schoen confirmed the talks did not come close. The second-year GM said earlier this week the sides had made some progress.
Guarantees here are not known, and if Barkley would entertain signing for this price, the Giants would likely need to step up on that front. As a former No. 2 overall pick, Barkley already signed a deal for $31.2MM guaranteed at signing. Not even Christian McCaffrey‘s contract — still the position-record deal on the AAV front, at $16MM — contains that. If Barkley does not accept the estimated $12.5MM-per-year accord, Vacchiano adds the Giants would be willing to let him walk.
This stance invites risk, as their pass catcher-deficient offense depended on Barkley for much of last season. Then again, free agency will bring a host of starter-level options — including Miles Sanders, Kareem Hunt and Devin Singletary, who arrived in Buffalo during Schoen and Daboll’s tenure — that would save the Giants money as they regrouped following failed Barkley negotiations. Still, Barkley is quite popular among the team’s fanbase and, when healthy, is one of the NFL’s best backs. Although this year’s free agent running back surplus could devalue the position, Barkley would shoot to the top of the market if untagged — especially if the Cowboys and Raiders respectively cuff Tony Pollard and Josh Jacobs.
The Giants’ best path remains extending Jones by Tuesday’s deadline and tagging Barkley at $10.1MM. A Jones tag will cost $32.4MM. As far as a long-term deal goes, Jones has been closely tied to a $45MM-per-year ask. The Giants had hoped $35MM per year would be the ceiling here. To bridge this gap, Vacchiano notes the sweet spot may well be a $37MM-AAV extension with the first two years guaranteed (Twitter link).
Jones asked the Giants for some time away before beginning negotiations and hired new representation after that stretch. How the Giants proceed with their passer’s new agency over the next week will certainly have a major say in their immediate future.
Jones takes $30mm or he walks
and walks into unemployment
or a $5mm backup
Zero chance he’s reduced to that. He’s not getting his rumored asking price, but if he hits the open market, he’ll get $20+. There are too many QB needy teams, the available options have enough flaws, and teams will still dream on a 6’5 former top ten pick, especially coming off his best season. People have traded actual draft capital to pay Wentz and Darnold coming off worse seasons. Someone would cough up a bunch of money to sign Jones as a UFA.
>There are too many QB needy teams
Which, exactly? The colts are going to draft, who else?
Not to sound dismissive but I’m interested in the line of thinking
Houston, Indy, Vegas, and Carolina, for sure. Tampa and Atlanta would likely prefer answers other than Trask and Ridder. The Jets and Saints are both looking for new starters. Washington claims to be rolling with Howell, but he’s a fifth rounder with 19 pass attempts in the NFL and he’s the only QB on their roster. Tennessee would presumably at least consider what their post-Tannehill QB situation looks like. And of course, the Giants need a QB, Jones or otherwise. Not everyone is coming away with one of the top 3-4 draft QBs or one of the top veteran options, and all of them come with some question marks.
Three of the four are likely drafting a QB and then seeking a bridge for much less than $20M. There are a lot of backups available for teams in the rebuilding stage. I can’t imagine Jones getting more than $15M per year outside of NY based on his complete track record. 2022 may be an outlier
So basically they are competing with themselves
I listed a lot more than four teams. Jones is also coming off his best season with horrendous receiving talent and he’s only a year older than Kenny Pickett and two years older than Will Levis. Someone will bet more than $20 million on him.
@Ooof: I could 100% see Washington offering Jones a big contract if he was a UFA (like I think OP is proposing). They love average, veteran QBs and it would keep their 35+ year QB carousel spinning.
I agree that it only takes one team to be needy enough, but the Wentz and Darnold experiments were failures. No team will look at what Washington gave up for Wentz and say “I want to do that too”. Those would be good examples if both of those teams weren’t currently looking for QBs. I would look at Geno Smith in Seattle or Purdy in San Francisco and say, “we can get better QB play from a career back up or the last pick in the draft”.
Wentz and Darnold were coming off multiple bad seasons, and they both cost draft capital AND millions. Jones is coming off a solid season and linear improvement, despite lousy pass catchers. Both PFF grade and DVOA had Jones as the 17th best QB in football last year. Even if you think that’s a little rich, he’s not even 26 yet, he showed a lot of improvement when playing for a good coach for the first time, and the other options out there all come with significant risk. I’m not saying Jones is great or bound to even be a top 15 QB, but in the game of QB musical chairs, a bunch of teams are afraid to be the ones left with a worse plan than him. Young QBs who’ve shown themselves to be starting caliber and with tools to dream of more than that are very expensive.
Agreed. You used the Wentz and Darnold deals as reasons why Jones should/would get a large deal. I am saying Wentz and darnold are reasons to not give Jones a large deal. That is all.
Gotcha. I meant that more in the sense that teams have shown they’ll spend big to bet on the potential in a former top ten pick even when he hasn’t been good.
You should be Baker Mayfield’s agent. He’s gonna need someone who thinks like you
He’ll get at least $35mm.
Jones isn’t even Andy Dalton 2.0 let the SCRUB walk and he will get a dose of reality.
Between his injury history and the ridiculous buyers’ market for running backs this offseason, paying him what truly elite backs got a couple years ago is more than fair. I don’t know who would give him more.
Only a team with money to spend like the Bears. He would be a great fit there as well.
He’s a second contract running back who’s had a lot of injuries. I don’t see the point in adding him to a team with a dicey offensive line that isn’t in win-now mode.
Let him walk, draft the kid from Texas
The kid from Texas (Ewers) is only a sophomore and might have to transfer with Manning in town.
I think he means Bijan Robinson
BREAKING NEWS: Aaron Rodgers is still booking daily appointments on podcasts to tell people he is still considering his options.
Danny Dimes leaves town, wonder if Giants throw their hat in the Rodgers conversation
Absolutely anyone we can trade rodgers to is a win for the packers lol
There are a half dozen washout QBs with talents equivalent to Jones. The Giants seem to want to repeat the contractual mistake constantly befalling their division rival Cowboys, i.e., outbidding themselves to overpay their home grown talent to such an extent that those albatross contracts prevent building a complete team.
The Giants need to focus on getting both these players under contract rather than wasting time on a strategy to obtain OBJ.