Tag: Steve Verderosa

Ex-Giants scout: Saquon Barkley is worth every penny

Former New York Giants scout Steve Verderosa sees the remaining potential in Saquon Barkley and believes he could still be worth every penny.

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With the winds of change once again blowing in East Rutherford, many anticipate a personnel bloodbath for the New York Giants this offseason.

Already, rumor and speculation surround several players, including quarterback Daniel Jones, safety Logan Ryan, wide receiver Sterling Shepard and yes, even running back Saquon Barkley.

Barkley, specifically, has been the focal point of many mock trades and trade speculation. But at least one former Giants scout — Steve Verderosa — believes trading Barkley would be a counterproductive measure.

The issue isn’t so much that Barkley is guaranteed $7.217 million in 2022, it’s that the Giants have debilitating salary cap issues and may not be able to justify paying that for an oft-injured running back.

The trade proposals and speculation don’t come from a place of disrespect, but reality. Barkley was electric as a rookie in 2018 but has seen injuries consume his career ever since. And even when “healthy,” his production has completely fallen off a cliff — he’s been out-produced by Devontae Booker and Wayne Gallman over the previous two seasons.

And more to Verderosa’s point, Adoree’ Jackson played well for the Giants in 2022 and although overpaid, adds value at a premium position. It’s also possible that the Giants trade James Bradberry, making Jackson that much more important.

Jackson is guaranteed value. Barkley is potential value. And therein lies the problem facing the Giants and general manager Joe Schoen. How much can a cash-strapped organization really afford to pay a non-premium player based on potential alone?

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Giants’ Pat Hanlon rips ex-scout Steve Verderosa

New York Giants senior VP of communications Pat Hanlon took aim at ex-scout Steve Verderosa on Tuesday following some critical tweets.

Former New York Giants scout Steve Verderosa, who was fired by the team in 2020 after several decades of service, warned against the potential promotion of assistant general manager Kevin Abrams earlier this week.

“Kevin has been the one negotiating the bad signings (Nate Solder, Kenny Golladay, etc.). He is not a football guy — never played, coached or scouted. Need a football guy!” Verderosa tweeted.

It was just the latest of several critical takes on the Giants and their executives that Verderosa has shared in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, Giants senior vice president of communications Pat Hanlon had finally heard enough. He shot back at Verderosa in a series of tweets that seemed to indicate there had been a major falling out.

Although Hanlon tweeted Verderosa directly, the former scout did not reply directly. Instead, he sent out a standalone tweet.

Hanlon has never been shy about sharing his two cents and will chime in when he feels it’s necessary. In this case, he clearly felt Verderosa had some ulterior motives and wasn’t going to let the criticism go unchecked.

Still, with the Giants down and out bad, this sort of public exchange does not reflect well. And with another season circling the drain, optics are really all that’s left in East Rutherford.

It’s just been that kind of year for the Giants. And when we say “year,” we really mean “decade.”

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