Giants owner John Mara adamantly said over the weekend that the team is not looking to trade running back Saquon Barkley – and on Monday, general manager Joe Schoen bluntly echoed that.
“I’m not shopping Saquon Barkley," Schoen said. "I haven’t called one team on Saquon Barkley.”
The GM did admit that he has received some calls about the back, and he reached out to Barkley after his comments at the NFL combine about being willing to listen to clarify that it’s not an active attempt to deal him.
"That was taken a little bit out of context at the combine," Schoen said. "Everybody ran with that from the combine. I said I would listen if people called on any players. It would be irresponsible if I didn't. That doesn't mean I'm going to do every deal.”
That said, Schoen believes he and Barkley are on good terms after that chat.
"I reached out to him immediately after all that happened," Schoen said. "Again, it would be irresponsible for the team if a team calls; I think 31 other GMs would say the same thing – if somebody is going to call and offer you something ridiculous, you're going to listen. It doesn't mean you're going to make a deal or say yes to it."
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Barkley’s fifth-year option is worth $7.217 million, so dealing him would help Schoen in his endeavor to shave about $40 million off the books of the cap-strapped Giants – a situation he said has made free agency “hard to operate,” which is why many of Big Blue’s signings one-year veteran-minimum deals.
Still, the Giants are now under the cap (albeit barely), and it’s not a priority to get something for the pending free agent, who Schoen hopes is a big part of the offense in 2022.
"Again, the guy was the No. 2 pick in the draft for a reason," Schoen said. "He's got a lot of talent and I'm looking forward to working with him."
Barkley’s best season was his rookie year, 2018, when he had 2,028 yards from scrimmage and was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Last season, coming off a torn ACL suffered in Week 2 of 2020, Barkley played 13 games and had 856 yards from scrimmage – the most on the team – and four touchdowns.
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