A year after they were one of the NFL’s biggest feel-good stories, the New York Giants are suffering through what looks like a miserable season.
They have a 1-4 record heading into Week 6, and their two biggest talents — quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley — are banged up.
Barkley, who has missed their last three games with an ankle injury, held out early in training camp, looking to get a big new contract. He eventually agreed to play out the 2023 season on New York’s franchise tag, but all it may do is kick the can down the road to the next offseason.
Some may feel the Giants should trade him ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline if they refuse to pay him what he wants. But Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media seems to think there’s no market for the star tailback.
“…There’s pretty much no way anybody would trade for him,” Slater said about Barkley for a piece published Wednesday. “He once again is struggling to stay on the field. He suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 2 and hasn’t played since (a three-game absence so far). With just three games left before the trade deadline, Barkley would have to do a lot to boost his value.”
NFL NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Saquon Barkley & New York Giants Updates
When Barkley has been healthy, he has been a force to be reckoned with and one of the game’s best at his position. He was outstanding last year, running for a career-high 1,312 yards while scoring 10 touchdowns and making the Pro Bowl for the second time in five years.
But staying healthy has been his bugaboo. He played in just two games in 2020 because of a torn ACL, and he has played in every game of the season just once.
Furthermore, the running back market across the NFL has cratered, and any team that would trade for Barkley would have to invest in him by giving him a new contract. Given such a market and his injury woes, it’s hard to imagine that happened.
NFL NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Saquon Barkley & New York Giants Updates
The Giants, who are very offensively challenged, should hang on to Barkley and pay the man. But is management willing to do so, considering the circumstances? The team would be in trouble if he left during the offseason, even more so than it is right now.
