The New York Giants face several tough decisions next offseason, including the futures of both quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley.
But might those decisions be made earlier than expected?
During his bye week press conference on Tuesday afternoon, general manager Joe Schoen acknowledged two key things. One, that the team may have to redo some contracts in order to function financially for the remainder of the season. Two, that potential extensions for Jones and Barkley will be discussed this week.
“We’ll have those meetings this week. We’ll talk about it if we want to (do something). We had to get through the trade deadline today and those conversations,” Schoen said. “We’ll kind of circle up with some strategy meetings as we move forward on contract extensions and if we may or may not do anybody. If I did, this would be the week. I would want to entertain it during the bye week, and then I probably won’t do anything after that. I don’t want anything to be a distraction to the players or organization. So, if we do something, it would be probably before Monday with any of our guys.”
Schoen did caution that there are nine games remaining and they may like to lean on those for further evaluation, but he likes what he’s seen from both DJ and Barkley thus far.
“I think Daniel’s done a good job. Those ‘got to have it’ moments, third downs, fourth quarters when you’ve got to have it. And I think he’s answered the bell in a lot of those situations,” Schoen said. “He’s the same guy he was the day we got here in terms of — it’s their time off, and he’s in here at 7:30 this morning having breakfast. It didn’t surprise me a bit. So, he’s a gym rat. He’s always around, and I think he’s done a good job leading the team this year.
“Saquon’s a great kid; he’s tough. He’s obviously talented. It’s a team game. I think him being healthy this year, you’ve kind of seen who he is and what he can do, whether that’s catching the ball or running the ball. Again, it’s credit to the offensive line and the receivers blocking for him. And he’s taken advantage of those opportunities with his God-given gifts too and helped us a lot. So, I’m pleased with where Saquon is.”
But it’s not just the contract of Jones and Barkley that the Giants will discuss. There are several other players, whether they are pending free agents or on bloated deals, that Schoen intends to make decisions on.
“There’s some guys that we’re going to talk about when we look at our UFAs and some of the guys that we could potentially extend. We’re going to have those conversations,” Schoen said. “Again, you’re balancing; we’re eight games in. There’s nine to go. Certain players will maybe want to play it out and see if you can up your value or take guarantees now. There’s a lot that goes into it. We’ll focus on that stuff later on in the week as we go through it. Some people may not have an appetite for extensions. Like I said, they may want to hit free agency and the open market. We’ll see; we’ll go through all of our UFAs, the guys with expiring contracts, and talk about them later on.
“When the season is over, I think we will be in much better (financial) shape. Will we get through the season without having to push a little bit more down the road? We’re not trending that way. These practice squad elevations cost you; these players going on IR cost you money. I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t have to do it again, but we’ll see. Again, we got nine games left. I would like to not have to convert any more money. That was a last scenario from when I got here, we just had to do it. Regardless if we do, hopefully it’s minimal and we’ll still be in good shape going into 2023.”
Given the team’s overwhelming number of injuries and lacking cap space, it seems inevitable that some deals get reworked or some players get extended. Will that be Jones or Saquon? Will it be someone else? Several of those decisions are likely to come over the next few days.
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