One of the major focuses for NY Giants fans for the debut episode of Hard Knocks was going to be how things went down with former running back Saquon Barkley. Thankfully, the team over at HBO Max wasted no time in giving us an idea of how things played out.
To start things off, Joe Schoen and his front office were in a meeting discussing Barkley's value in free agency. Schoen didn't seem convinced at all that a team would put a massive offer on the table for him. However, others knew something big could be on the way. Schoen didn't, and he clearly had no idea Philly would try and get something done either.
Seems like Joe Schoen thought Saquon wouldn’t get a huge deal
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) July 3, 2024
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NY Giants Hard Knocks showed us Joe Schoen didn't value Saquon Barkley too much
In the end, Barkley inked a three-year contract with the Eagles and Howie Roseman. He's now getting ready to play behind the best offensive line of his career, which is going to be a lot of fun to watch for people in Philly. As for everyone in New York and New Jersey? Not so much.
Barkley spent the past six seasons with the G-Men, highlighted by two Pro Bowls and a trip to the postseason in 2022. During that fall and winter, Barkley was electric to watch and we still remember his two touchdowns vs. the Vikings in the Wild Card Round.
However, once the 2023 season came to a close, a campaign where Barkley missed more time with an ankle injury, it felt like a long shot that he'd be brought back. The Giants weren't going to franchise tag him and Schoen didn't want to spend top dollar on him either.
This opened the door for Barkley to negotiate with other teams and a return to Pennsylvania, his home state, ended up happening. Giants fans hate the fact that Barkley is suiting up for the enemy, but this first episode of Hard Knocks has let us know that Schoen didn't really see this coming and he wasn't ready to give him the kind of bag Roseman ended up providing him.