It isn't much of a secret that the New York Giants have some major issues with their running back room right about now. Cam Skattebo is in the doghouse, Najee Harris was just sent packing, and for a team that wanted the ground game to define its identity, the Giants lack a legitimate feature back.
New York's run game has been woefully inefficient, and there is no one more frustrated by that fact than John Harbaugh, who addressed Harris' frustration about the 4-RB rotation while talking to reporters on Wednesday. And in doing so, he backed up his wish that the Giants had a true workhorse.
"I would love to be in the Derrick Henry circumstance or the Saquon Barkley circumstance," Harbaugh said.
Given he spent the last two seasons coaching Henry in Baltimore, it's hardly surprising he name-dropped him. But he also name-dropped former Giant Saquon Barkley, which begs the question of whether or not a reunion is in the realm of possibility. And let me save you the trouble: it is not.
Let's calm down for a second here. Harbs could've named any number of elite backs to get the point across. Jonathan Taylor. Bijan Robinson. Jahmyr Gibbs. But those final two aren't getting moved. The point was intended for him just to name running backs who have proven they can handle a major workload, since that's what Big Blue wants--fanning the flames of this rumor mill was not the intent.
Just because Barkley could be available as the Eagles prepare for a fire sale does not mean the former No. 2 overall pick is a shoo-in to end up back where it all began. In fact, I think we'll see pigs fly before this happens. Howie Roseman loves to make a deal, but this is a line even he won't cross.
The Giants' desperation for an elite RB won't bring them back to Saquon Barkley
The Giants are obviously going to poke and prod around the running back market before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. Nobody is doubting that. But there is a laundry list of targets of targets who would make more sense. The Indianapolis Colts just fired longtime GM Chris Ballard. If anything, Taylor would make more sense, as would a Harbaugh-Harbaugh swap for Chargers RB Omarion Hampton.
For one, the Eagles should be sellers at the deadline, but there isn't a chance Howie Roseman would send one of the best backs in the NFL to a division rival. Unless Harbaugh and Joe Schoen make him an offer he can't refuse, and they're not giving up the farm for a 29-year-old who can't stay healthy.
Second, Barkley has missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury, but even when he's healthy, he hasn't been all that productive. The former Offensive Player of the Year does not have a single 100-yard game under his belt this season, and he has yet to find the end zone.
Let's just go over some of the players with more rushing yards than Saquon in 2026:
- TreVeyon Henderson
- Brian Robinson Jr.
- Emmanuel Wilson
- Deshaun Watson
- Woody Marks
If we're talking about the failure of this run game to live up to expectations, the last thing the G-Men should do is go out and grab one of the more disappointing RBs in football to remedy that. And while a lot of his issues are courtesy of an awful situation in Philadelphia, it'd be smarter for Harbaugh to try and bring in a younger back. We already had our trip down memory lane with Odell Beckham Jr.
This idea feels incredibly far-fetched, and it's time to settle down. John Harbaugh can want to improve the RB room all he wants, but Saquon Barkley feels like more of a pipe dream target than someone we can actually envision the Giants picking up.
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