Coming into the offseason, the goal for Joe Schoen, the new general manager of the New York Giants, was to slash money off the salary as much as possible. He wanted to clear at least $40 million in space and has worked diligently to reach that number. Saquon Barkley has been a name that has been mentioned as a trade candidate and the San Francisco 49ers have been one team connected to him.
Because of the condition that Dave Gettleman left the team, Schoen didn’t have much wiggle room when it came to upgrading the roster. He was able to bring in some help for the offensive line, but most of the upgrades for the Giants will come during the 2022 NFL Draft.
One of the players that many people think could be on the move at some point to clear even more cap space is running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley has the skill set to be one of the best running backs in the NFL, just as he showed during his rookie season, but he has been unable to stay healthy since.
Selecting Barkley No. 2 overall was one of Gettleman’s biggest gaffes, as the Giants were much more than a talented running back away from being a winning team in 2018 and that selection is one of the many reasons they are stuck where they currently are.
New York won’t get full value for Barkley, but with his rookie deal expiring after this season, a trade does make some sense. The Giants are not going to offer Barkley a lucrative deal as he hasn’t been healthy in three seasons. Seeing the kind of shape the rest of the roster is in, New York would be best getting something for him now instead of watching him potentially leave as a free agent next year.
One team that continues to pop up as a potential landing spot for the former Nittany Lion is the San Francisco 49ers. With Raheem Mostert leaving in free agency, they could use some help in the backfield to join Elijah Mitchell.
Barkley would likely thrive in a Kyle Shanahan-led offense given his dual-threat ability out of the backfield. He is as capable of a pass-catcher with the ability to line up at wide receiver, as he is carrying the ball.
Adding Barkley to the mix with Mitchell, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk would give presumed starter Trey Lance an abundance of options to get the ball to and keep the offense moving.
Swapping Barkley for a mid-round pick is likely a fair price for both the Giants and 49ers.
