Saquon Barkley will sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 27-year-old has agreed to a 37.5 Millon dollar deal with the Eagles in principle. While the deal will officially close on Wednesday, the expected move has still sent shockwaves through the league. Barkley now returns home to Pennsylvania, where he played college football, and will now suit up against the Giants two times a season.
For those that remain, and for those who will soon join the Giants, the question now becomes what kind of damage will Saquon’s absence really create?
Saquon Barkley Offered Anemic Offenses Backfield Help
Make no mistake about it, when the Giants drafted Saquon Barkley #2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, he offered a day one impact. Coming into an offense that only put up 15 points per game in 2017, Barkley helped the Giants become a mid-pack offense in 2018 and 2019. However, the Giants only marginally improved in the win column in those seasons.
Barkley’s 2020 was over before it could begin, and in 2021, he faced multiple other injuries for a Giants team that, once again, only scored 15 points per game. But for 2022, Barkley’s resurgence helped the Giants return to solid offensive outputs. The Giants scored 21 points per game, Barkley returned to the Pro Bowl, and the Giants found playoff success.
2023 saw both Barkley and the Giants take a step backwards. Despite Barkley still rushing for 962 yards, the Giants offense stepped back amidst a year of drama at other positions. The Giants rounded out 2023 with a 6-11 record.
Who Will Step Up?
Eric Gray, Gary Brightwell, and Matt Breida are the remaining incumbents in the Giants’ running back room. None of these three have come close to recording the levels of production Saquon Barkley had managed while healthy.
Free Agency has offered intriguing options to replace Barkley, and the team has already acted on this. The Giants have moved to sign Devin Singletary.
Compensation update: Giants are giving former Texans RB Devin Singletary a 3-year, $16.5 million deal worth up to $19.5 million, per source. https://t.co/QsVqu6NbNz
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
Giants Own #6 Overall Pick, Three Day Two Selections
The Giants possess four of the first 70 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Their number 6 overall pick is one that holds much speculation, as Daniel Jones’s replacement may be waiting with that selection. Then, the Giants will come up again with the 39th and 47th picks in the second round, and 70th in the third.
This year’s crop of running backs are not likely to be selected before the middle of day 2, so the Giants can start reaching in with their two second round selections or their third round choice. Blake Corum, Jonathon Edwards, and Trey Benson will be waiting.
What Happens Next?
For Saquon Barkley, he gets to experience winning for the first time. For Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, a critical offseason has gotten off to the worst possible start. For Daniel Jones, or for whomever the Giants replace him with, the situation gets even more complicated for their offense.
That was the impact Saquon Barkley held for the New York Giants. The ability to help, when healthy, the team turn around the offensive struggles it had faced for the better part of a decade. And now that he is gone, Daboll, Schoen, and OC Mike Kafka all have to step up and ensure the Giants can field an offense that can be even better without Barkley.
If they cannot do this, their jobs may just be toast.