After two episodes of "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants," one of the major storylines of the show has been the departure of Saquon Barkley.
While it's been clear that Giants general manager Joe Schoen may have misjudged Barkley's market, he has made it clear that the Giants are leaning heavily into the analytics when it comes to running backs.
As a part of the offseason insight, viewers got the chance to get a rare look behind the scenes at a conversation between Schoen and Barkley before free agency.
It even sparked the ire of one Eagles radio host, who called Schoen an "idiot" for having an "asinine" conversation with a player set to hit free agency.
This conversation between Saquon Barkley and #NYGiants GM Joe Schoen I assume Saquon thought was private. Fact that Giants allowed “Hard Knocks” put it out there publicly is a disgrace. What an asinine conversation by Schoen as well. Why would Barkley want to play for that… pic.twitter.com/pVRtRFJS6Y
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) July 10, 2024
Eskin, who remains suspended from Phillies games for the remainder of the season after allegedly kissing a Citizens Bank Park’s food service provider without consent, was particularly peeved at this situation.
The Eagles wound up offering Barkley a contract the Giants simply wouldn't have given him. Whether that will work out in the end remains to be seen, but the truth is the Giants likely weren't going to offer Barkley $12.5 million per year with $26 million guaranteed.
There should be more clarity on how the situation played out in free agency during the final few episodes of Hard Knocks so it will be interesting to see how that unfolds.
