It’s bad enough that the New York Giants (2-9) have become a laughing stock this season on the field. Now their front office, coaching staff, and ownership are taking on heavy fire as well.
The messy departure of Daniel Jones and the decisions to allow running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney leave via free agency are coming back to haunt them in major ways.
Jones leaves behind a king’s ransom in dead cap money ($22 million next year) and a legacy of losing that could take the team years to recover from. Depending on how things break and where Jones lands, the Giants could receive a compensatory draft pick for him.
It’s not all on Jones, naturally, but he was still their best hope at quarterback for the remaining seven games. Instead, they decided to have local folk hero Tommy DeVito take over ahead of backup Drew Lock. That decision has already cost them as DeVito was bounced around pretty good in their 30-7 drubbing last week against Tampa Bay at home.
McKinney was signed to a $67 million deal that appeared to be egregious at the time. He currently leads the NFL interceptions (7) and will get some All-Pro consideration.
The Giants backfilled McKinney’s loss by drafting Tyler Nubin, who looks like he could develop into a top safety in this league.
Based on the Over The Cap formula, the Giants are in line for a compensatory fourth-round selection.
It’s the Barkley situation that stings the most. Giants general manager Joe Schoen decided to not make Barkley a free agent offer, allowing the rival Philadelphia Eagles to scoop him up on Day 1 of free agency.
Barkley wanted to stay. He wanted to be a Giant his whole career. Team co-owner John Mara even told Schoen in a clip from HBO’s Hard Knocks that he would “have trouble sleeping” if Barkley ended up in Philly.
Now, Barkley is embarking on a historic season and is in the MVP conversation. He could also end up in the Super Bowl as the Eagles are off to a 9-2 start.
To add insult to injury, Barkley’s loss has been canceled out on the OTC chart. He factored in but not enough to earn a second compensatory pick.
The loss of Barkley is canceled out by the signing of guard Jon Runyan Jr. Schoen decided to prioritize the offense line again this offseason — a choice hailed by many — but his additions have not really had much of an impact on the offense.
Many have written and said that Barkley would not be thundering towards Canton had he stayed in New York. We agree. He would likely not have made much of a difference for this offense which cannot seem to get out of its own way.
The same of all of this is that the Giants are stuck in the mud (again) and going nowhere fast and Jones and Barkley — once the two faces of the franchise — are gone with with little to nothing to show for.
