The home of the New York Giants and New York Jets was on full display this past weekend. While the NFL season is over, MetLife Stadium was busy hosting this year’s NHL Stadium Series. Two games were played on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
Some of the teams included were the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, and New York Islanders. While there was plenty of entertainment on the ice, New York Giants QB Tommy DeVito garnered a lot of attention off of the ice. Overall, the Giants players present for this game represented the very real identity crisis this team is facing moving forward.
No Long-Term New York Giants Representatives
The New York Giants had three players appear during the Stadium Series. These players were QB Tommy DeVito, RB Saquon Barkley, and WR Sterling Shepard. DeVito even took his appearance a step further by starring in the intro video for the Stadium Series.
Regardless, the appearance of these three players represents a real problem for the Giants. Admittedly, all three of these players are loved by the fans. However, the common problem they represent is that none of these three players may be relevant for the Giants in the 2024 NFL season.
Free Agents
Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard are both unrestricted free agents this offseason. Unfortunately, for Shepard, his overall NFL career is in jeopardy due to the number of injuries he has dealt with these past few years. As for Barkley, there is a much bigger problem at hand.
Things appear to be tense between Barkley and the Giants. Resentment has built about the possibility of Barkley having the franchise tag placed on him again. However, Barkley would not be surprised if it happened. If it does, perhaps Barkley holds out for the second consecutive time.
Quarterback Dilemma
The Giants are also facing a dilemma at the quarterback position. DeVito broke out during his rookie campaign and became a national star. However, before the end of the season, he was benched in favor of veteran QB Tyrod Taylor. Ironically, Taylor is not expected to return to the Giants in 2024.
Then, there is Daniel Jones. He dealt with multiple injuries this past season and it is unknown if he can return to his 2022 self for the 2024 NFL season. Plus, the Giants are going to owe Jones about $40 million next season.
However, the Giants can get out of Jones’ contract once the 2024 NFL season concludes. Plus, they hold the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. In other words, the man who is making national videos for other sports while representing the Giants is not guaranteed to get playing time next season.
On top of this, the Giants are paying Jones handsomely who may not be the franchise guy moving forward. New York has an identity crisis and the Stadium Series put it on full display. Brian Daboll and company better get their act together in 2024.
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