Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time rushing yards leader, has a strong opinion when it comes to the New York Giants and Saquon Barkley.
“If they don’t bring him back, shame on them,” Smith, the three-time Super Bowl champ, told the New York Daily News.
“Daniel Jones cannot be Daniel Jones without Saquon. And that team cannot be what it is without Saquon doing what he did this year. What you saw is a guy that’s healthy can do a lot of great things. It would be foolish of the Giants to let Saquon go.”
The Giants are in jeopardy of losing both Barkley and Jones in free agency next month unless they can figure out how to retain them without crushing whatever salary cap space they have this offseason.
Smith also had some interesting things to say when it came to the diminishing importance of ‘bell cow’ running backs, stating that the league is doing so to favor passing games and cater to fantasy football and other fan interest ventures.
“It’s by design. It’s a marketing ploy behind it to convince everybody that that position is not as valuable as it should be, or as it once used to be,” said Smith, who is in Arizona for the Super Bowl. “I think it’s a shame they’re reducing the value [of running backs] and pushing it out to the wide receivers and the cornerbacks and the quarterbacks. And this is all about fantasy football and the points that you’re gaining in fantasy football. Period.”
Smith is right. The league has forged business relationships with many of the gambling and fantasy sites over the past few years and as a result, the game is more popular than ever. More scoring is better for business.
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