On Saturday, the New York Jets traded disgruntled safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a haul that included two first-round picks.
The trade came after months of Adams demanding he be moved and just a day after he absolutely shredded Jets head coach Adam Gase in an interview with the New York Daily News.
Following Adams’ trade, it begs the question: who’s next?
Although the New York Giants are not actively looking to trade anyone, general manager Dave Gettleman has proven somewhat unpredictable in that area. After all, he decided to trade wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns after months of repeating, “we didn’t sign him to trade him.”
Needless to say, anything is possible in East Rutherford.
Currently, the Giants don’t have many major assets on the same level as Adams, but the one they do have is superstar running back Saquon Barkley.
Now, before the hate mail and social media comments come pouring in, we are not suggesting the Giants trade Barkley, nor are we implying he’s the same sort of disgruntled player Adams became. In fact, it’s unlikely you would ever see Barkley publicly criticize his team in the way Adams did or the way Beckham had.
Still, if the Giants get off to a poor start in 2020 and it becomes evident their rebuild is not yet complete, Barkley will become an interest to teams around the league and a potential trade piece for Gettleman & Co.
With a mega deal for Barkley on the horizon and potential salary cap problems looming in 2021 as a result of changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Giants will need to be incredibly careful how they navigate the situation.
That doesn’t automatically mean the Giants will look to trade Barkley, but if they’re no closer to returning to competition, it makes little sense for them to invest big dollars into a running back and it makes less sense for Barkley to waste his prime years.
The odds Barkley gets traded are slim-to-none, but how things play out here in 2020 could alter those odds substantially.
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