The phrase “make-or-break year” gets tossed around a lot, but it seems like the Giants have one almost every year.
Heading into 2022, they have a new regime in place with general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, and the team has brought in quite a few veterans at key offensive spots to help Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley out and two Top 10 picks (and five of the Top 81) to add more.
However, it’s make-or-break in that Barkley is a free agent after this season and Jones could be, as the decision to pick up his fifth-year option or not is “a discussion we’ll be having over the next month or so” according to team owner John Mara.
Jones is on his third head coach and fourth offensive system since being drafted No. 6 overall in 2019, and Barkley is in the same boat – but Mara, speaking at the NFL’s annual league meeting, thinks there will be some overall improvement no matter what in 2022.
“I don’t think it's a very high bar to improve over last year, but we've got some draft capital, and I think we've signed some pretty good players so far,” Mara said. “I really like the staff that Brian has put together. I do think we'll be a much better team. But I know those words are shallow right now until we actually start playing. Hopefully, we'll have a better injury situation than we've had. We've taken a hard look at our practices and what we need to change, and I expect us and hope that we'll be a lot healthier next year. I don't think we're a finished product by any stretch of the imagination, but I think we’re on the way there.”
While the Giants have added a lot on the offensive side, they’ve done so in an interesting manner: no huge contracts, like the one handed out to wide receiver Kenny Golladay last offseason.
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Instead, most of the additions are veterans on one-year deals, which is helpful both in hoping for production while also helping an already cap-strapped team flexible for both the short and long-term.
"Sometimes, modest is good. We've been in situations where we've spent pretty aggressively and it hasn't always worked out,” Mara said. “Sometimes getting guys who are a little less expensive but fulfill important roles for you is the way to go and that is where we are right now. We don't have a choice, but I think we'll be in a very good cap situation next year."
And, quite frankly, Mara knows the Giants may have quite a bit of cap space next offseason, given that Barkley and Jones’ rookie deals could both be off the books. The former is assured, whether or not Saquon is re-signed, but he’s hoping that Jones shows enough to either make picking up his fifth-year option the right move or
"I think that when we had the right pieces around him and when we've been relatively healthy, he's shown enough talent to make us believe that we can win with him,” Mara said of Jones. “I've been quoted over and over again about all the problems that we've caused for him by the lack of continuity and the lack of stability. We've got to help him become a better player, and hopefully, we'll do that this year. The head coach and the general manager have both been very impressed with him so far. He's got everything that you want. We just have to, number one, keep him healthy and, number two, put the right pieces around him.”
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That includes Barkley, who Mara said unequivocally is not being shopped by the Giants.
“We’re not shopping him. If Joe and Brian want to make a personnel decision and they have a conviction about it, I'm not going to interfere with it, but that's not something that we're actively looking to do,” Mara said. “We want to put the best possible team on the field and build for the future. I like him. He's been a great representative for us. I still think he's a really good player, and could potentially have a very big year this year.”
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