Now that New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley has ended his holdout, what will the media and fans concentrate on next?
Barkley agreed to a one-year contract on Tuesday, hours before the team opens their doors for training camp. The deal is for slightly more than the franchise tender of $10.091 million (up to $11 million) and contains a $2 million signing bonus.
The Giants now have all of their key pieces in tow as they head into Year 2 of the Joe Schoen/Brian Daboll era.
Barkley even showed up extra early to the Giants’ facility on Tuesday ready to get tot work, per reports.
Saquon Barkley is already in the building, per source. Day 1 of training camp. #giants
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) July 25, 2023
While their co-tenants — the Jets — are getting crushed by the media with the addition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and their appearance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this summer, the Giants can now fly under the radar without any drama or controversy hanging over their heads at camp.
The major storylines to keep an eye on will be the further growth of quarterback Daniel Jones, the improved offensive line, the overcrowded wide receivers room, tight end Darren Waller, and the defense in the second year of coordinator Wink Martindale’s scheme.
Initially, there will be a lot of questions for Barkley, but then he’ll recede into the woodwork with his head down and lead this team by example, as usual.
For this writer, the big story could be the pass-rush duo of Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari. At some point, these two are going to pop.
One thing we don’t look forward to is living through another season marred by injuries. Last year wasn’t as bad as recent years and we hope that trend continues to improve.
Very quickly, a review of general manager Joe Schoen’s offseason:
Schoens offseason in a nutshell
1st 3 picks were all mocked to us at 25 at one point
Added depth on the DL and a very good ILB
Traded Toney for Waller and an extra pick
Extended Dex
Got DJ back on a fair deal
Signed Saquon to a deal that Carries no risk and no distraction
— The Entertainah (@TheEntertainah) July 25, 2023