Show star duo the money, not the door
THE money quote on Baggie Day from Saquon Barkley, asked by The Post whether he would be upset were the Giants to slap him with the franchise tag ($10.1 million):
“I think it would upset anybody.” The money quote from Daniel Jones on the mourning after:
“I’d love to be back, but we’ll see, and there’s a business side of it, too.” Welcome to Big Blue Moneyball. A critical offseason when general manager Joe Schoen must figure out the sensible way to heed the calls from his own locker room and make sure that Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley continue to be the twin free-agent faces of the franchise.
There is never room for sentimentality. But Jones and Barkley will only be 26 when next season begins, and they epitomize what Giants are and should be.
“When they’re playing well,” Andrew Thomas told The Post, “we have a really good opportunity to win games against anybody, so hopefully they’ll be here next year.”
A critical offseason when the franchise quarterback and the franchise running back should not be obsessed with breaking the bank and leaving the general manager, currently with the third most space in the league, with veritable salary cap crumbs to try to build the Giants into a legitimate Super Bowl contender in Year 2 with Brian Daboll.
This should be “Let’s Make A Deal” season during which neither side plays hardball.
“I know for us, for the players, we would love to have ’em, keep ’em,” Xavier McKinney told The Post. “I think they’ll figure it out.”
To stay here. “That’s what we want, the players,” McKinney reiterated.
Now no agent ever wants his client to leave money on the table, so the $35 Million Or So Question for Jones and the $14 Million Or So Question for Barkley is whether they would consider giving the Giants a hometown discount.
Jones: “I think we’ll cross all those bridges when we get there. I’m not gonna answer a question like that at this point. There’s a lot to be done, a lot of discussions. We’ll get into that as we get there.”
Barkley: “I’m not gonna really get into that. All that conversation will come up pretty soon.”
Christian McCaffrey ($16 million) is the highest-paid running back, followed by Alvin Kamara ($15 million) and Ezekiel Elliott ($15 million). Barkley belongs in that conversation.
“I’m not really too concerned about resetting any markets or anything like that,” Barkley said. “I’m realistic. I know where I was on pace to do, but having two years filled up with injuries and having a season of not performing to the level I know I can perform doesn’t help. But I think I was able to show the type of caliber of player I am, the things I’m able to do on a football field.”
Jones doesn’t want to leave Barkley. “He’s the best running back in the league,” Jones said. “I think he proved that this year to everyone, and showed what he’s capable of doing as a playmaker, as a dynamic part of this offense. I think there’s no question he’s the best player in the league at his position, and he proved that. He deserves everything that’s ahead of him.”
Barkley doesn’t want to leave Jones.
“He’s got all the stuff that’s needed to be an elite quarterback in this league,” Barkley said.
You would think that an ascending Jones would be in the ballpark with Carson Wentz ($32 million), Jared Goff ($33.5 million) and Kirk Cousins ($35 million).
“For us in this locker room, we believe in him, we have from the jump, and he just proved us all right,” McKinney said.
Here is why Jones doesn’t want to be anything other than a New York Giant: “Just being able to represent a franchise that has the tradition, has the storied history that this one does. I think playing for the Mara family and the Tisch family, I think they run a first-class operation in all senses. It’s a special place to be.”
He knows he can take another leap under Daboll.
“I learned a ton from him,” Jones said. “Think he set this group up to have success this year, and I really enjoyed playing for him.”
Here is why Barkley doesn’t want to be anything other than a New York Giant: “It’s everything. It’s home. Just coming in every single day with the type of people that’s in this building . ... The way they treat each other. The way they care about football. The way they care about you as an individual. Proud to be part of it and hopefully I can be part of it longer.” The sight of his nameplate missing over his locker raised eyebrows, but it turns out that Barkley takes his home at the end of every season.
“We’re not gonna make something out of that,” Barkley said.
No one should want to. The last thing Schoen should want to do is alienate his best player with a franchise tag and maybe lose him.
“He’s the best running back in the league. Obviously we rather him on our team than anywhere else,” McKinney said.
Show them the money, not the door.