Welcome to the 2023 NFL Combine, where the best NFL draft prospects showcase their football skills, test their individual speed and coordination, all while doing so through a series of specific drills.
The NFL Combine is being held @ Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Live coverage will be available on the NFL Network. (See here for times/dates)
New York Giants General Manager Joe Schoen was in attendance yesterday and had a lot to say about the contract situations of Quarterback Daniel Jones and Running Back Saquon Barkley.
“I would love to have them both back,” Schoen said yesterday while being interviewed. “They work well with each other. Their entire careers in the NFL, they’ve been together. I do think they complement each other well. We’re trying to have productive conversations with both their representatives. The goal is to hopefully have something done.”
While both Barkley and Jones’ careers did not start out on the right foot, they improved tremendously when Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll arrived in January 2022. Not only did both their production increase, but they were able to make the playoffs and pull off a first-round upset over the Minnesota Vikings.
“You have to go through hard times before you come out the other end, better times in negotiations,” he said. “So, we’re trying to work through it. Obviously, we’d like to have them both back. They know how we feel about them both. And again, we’re still working through it.”
If the Giants can make a deal with either Barkley or Jones before the cut-off next Tues. March 7th, the team can lock-up the other player with their franchise tag. The Giants General Manager had no problem with securing one of the players before the March 7th deadline.
“It’s got to be right for both parties,” Schoen replied. “Again, I say it all the time with you guys – if, then scenarios. We’re going through those. So, if it gets out of hand and it’s out of our comfort zone, we have the tag. We can only tag one player. We’ll use that. If somebody’s got to walk, then it’s unfortunate. But that’s a part of the business. We’re still building a team. That’s important to keep in mind.”
“Were hoping that we don’t get to where it’s one or the other. It doesn’t have to be that way. If it did, We wouldn’t have contract offers out to both of them. So, it’s not necessarily one’s getting tagged. Ideally, that doesn’t happen, and you get them both done. That’s going to be better for the organization. And I think it’ll be better for Daniel, and I think it’ll be better for Saquon if we can get deals done without having to use the franchise tag.”
With not yet having the former no. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft signed, Schoen didn’t hesitate to say, “no” when questioned if he had any hesitation that Jones would still be the Giants starting quarterback this upcoming season.
“We’re going to try to get Daniel done,” he said. “We wouldn’t be in this situation, negotiating with Daniel if we didn’t want him to be our quarterback”.
Schoen noted if Jones isn’t signed by the deadline, he will be tagged. That wouldn’t stop the league and his team from ongoing negotiations that would reduce cap space if he participated under the $32.4 million tag income.
In his up and down four-year career, 2022 was the best season for Jones. He threw for 15 touchdowns for 3,205 yards, completed 67.2% of his passes, his pass rating was 92.5%, throwing for only five interceptions on 472 attempt, and ran for 708 rushing yards scoring seven touchdowns.
He and the Giants went 9-6-1 and clinched an NFC Wild Card berth. Even better, the #6 seeded Giants pulled a first-round upset over the #3 seeded Minnesota Vikings, before losing soundly to the eventual Super Bowl Runners up the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game
“Daniel did have a great year,” Schoen said. “And he’ll be the first to tell you: There’s still a lot of meat left on the bone and a lot of room left for improvement. And Dabs (coach Brian Daboll) will tell you that. The coaching staff will tell you that. He came a long way; he’s still 25. I still think there’s room for improvement as he continues to mature and be around the staff. I think the continuity with the staff, getting (offensive coordinator) Mike Kafka back. Our defensive staff is coming back. I think continually, year two, familiarity with the system, we’ll be that much further ahead as we go into the offseason program. And I think everybody will benefit from that, especially Daniel.”
In an ideal world, Schoen would have Barkley positioned at tailback starting with Jones at quarterback. During the Giants bye week, both parties encountered their commitment on a deal to keep Barkley in East Rutherford. When the season was over, Schoen reiterated of those findings, “we were off on the value.” Regarding that gap, Schoen replied yesterday, “We haven’t totally bridged it. We’re a little bit closer. There’s still a gap or we’d have him done. We’ll still work through that. And again, we’re working with Roc Nation and Kim Miale, his agent, We have a great relationship with her, and I have had for a long time. We’ve had really good communication. She does a great job. We’ll see if we can bridge the gap here at some point.”
Barkley finished fourth in the National League, rushing for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is the captain of the Giants and a team leader in the locker room as well as on the field. In 2018, he was named Pepsi Rookie-of-the-Year. Last year, he made his second Pro Bowl in the 2023 Reimagined Pro Bowl Games coached by Peyton Manning for the AFC and Eli Manning for the NFC. The popular running back is also the Giants’ choice for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and one of the G-Men’s most respected athletes.
“You take all of that into into account or you wouldn’t approach the player on a contract extension,” Schoen stated. “So, Walter Payton Man of the Year. I love that about him. But you also got to look at production, durability, games played, production versus other comps through the league. And if it goes past this, let’s shift to plan B. And hopefully we don’t get to that. But we went through all those plans.”
How far away are the Giants from reaching their goal?
“I can’t tell you that – then they’d know,” Schoen spoke with a little smile. “We’re going to try to bridge the gap.” With both our players!
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