If the New York Giants do trade running back Saquon Barkley this offseason, it doesn't sound like they can expect a significant return.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic says that "the consensus trade value for Barkley is a fourth-round pick," information he gathered from speaking to a variety of sources at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
The former No. 2 overall pick played in 13 games this past season as he returned from a torn ACL that limited him to just two games in 2020. While Barkley had a few flashes of being the guy that won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2018, he was largely underwhelming in his fourth season, averaging just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt. He did add in 41 catches for 263 yards, but this is a player who had 91 catches for 721 yards in his rookie campaign.
Barkley is under contract for one more season, slated to make $7.2 million in 2022 as he plays on his fifth-year option. When asked about the possibility of a change of scenery for the former Penn State standout, new general manager Joe Schoen didn't rule out the possibility of trading Barkley if the right offer presents itself this offseason.
"We're still working through that, but I'm open to everything," Schoen told the collective media, including Jordan Raanan of ESPN. "Like whether it's trading player for player; I'll listen to anybody. If it's trading a couple players -- I'm not going to say the entire roster, [that] we're open for business on the entire roster. But if anyone is going to call and they're interested in any of our players. I'm certainly going to listen.
"Again, we're in a situation where unfortunately we have to get under the salary cap. We're not in very good salary-cap health. Again, I'm not going to say yes to every deal, but I'm definitely going to listen and be open to the situations that are best for the New York Giants."
Over The Cap currently has the Giants listed as having -6.5 million in cap space this offseason, and a trade of Barkley before June 1 would open up more than $7 million in cap space.
Last week, we wondered if cornerback James Bradberry could be a cap casualty, as he's set to have a $21.86 million cap hit in 2022, but cutting him would leave the Giants with $9.72 million in dead money, essentially opening up more than $10 million in cap space. For what it's worth, Duggan says that some believe the Giants could land a third-round pick if they traded Bradberry, who is still only 28. A trade would leave the Giants with the same amount of dead cap money as a release.
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