Getty Images Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants.
Saquon Barkley’s stand against the New York Giants has inspired a million takes.
Now add three more, courtesy of the legends who preceded Barkley in Big Blue’s backfield.
Past Giants running backs Ottis Anderson, Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs all reacted to Barkley’s standoff last week, according to WFAN and the New York Post. Combined, that trio rushed for over 25,000 career yards. But each star had a different opinion than the next about Barkley and the Giants’ path forward beyond the $10.1 million franchise tag.
Barber, a three-time Pro Bowler, said he believed that Barkley has a ton of choices after failing to reach a long-term deal with New York and that “none of them are good for him.”
“Choice No. 1, like [Raiders running back] Josh Jacobs, sit out,” Barber said on his weekly radio show on WFAN. “That makes the Giants worse. That sucks for the Giants, it sucks for Saquon Barkley. It’s a bad option, but it’s the only one that he can make a solid point about with the situation. He could sit out training camp, make a statement, but what does that really do?”
Barber outlined other potential Barkley options, including a “hold-in,” in which Barkley rejoins the team, doesn’t mention his contract status, “suits up and crushes it.” But even those options still signal the end of Barkley’s Giants tenure, per Barber.
“This feels like the beginning of the end for Saquon Barkley,” Barber said. “The Giants aren’t doing right by him now. Why would they do right by him a year from now when he’s a year older? The Giants aren’t going to pay him.”
Giants Legends Brandon Jacobs, Ottis Anderson Weigh In on Saquon Barkley Situation
Brandon Jacobs and Ottis Anderson were two big, bruising Giants backs who helped bring Super Bowl championships back to New York.
But their thoughts on Barkley are as different as their playing styles were similar.
Jacobs, who rushed for over 5,000 yards in eight seasons with the Giants, said he believed Barkley should “get what [he thinks he’s] worth,” according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. He said he also saw Barkley’s franchise tag as much different from the one placed on him by the Giants in 2009.
“They franchised me with the intent to do a deal and we got a deal done,” Jacobs, who signed a four-year deal with the team after the tag was placed, told Schwartz. “They did it to keep me off the market. … (Now) nobody wants to pay running backs.”
Anderson said he understood that fact more than most. The ex-running back starred for seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before a cost-cutting trade to New York in 1986.
There, Anderson rejuvenated his career and won MVP in the 1991 Super Bowl. But only two running backs — Emmitt Smith and Terrell Davis — have won Super Bowl MVP since then, in 1994 and 1998, respectively. In that same span, 19 quarterbacks were Super Bowl MVPs.
The key takeaway? Running backs are viewed less and less as the cog that powers championship-winning teams. And Anderson said that fact should’ve motivated Barkley at the bargaining table.
“I get where Barkley feels he’s at the point in his career where he wants that one big check, that one big contract, because everybody wants that, because you’re not sure you’re gonna get another one,” Anderson told Schwartz. “Two years from now, he’ll be in his seventh year, and that’s when most teams let go of running backs.
“That’s what’s scary about negotiating and listening to people in your corner, which is what you’re supposed to do. But there comes a point in time where you got to man up and make your own decision. You had money on the table, more than you got now. Now you got less, now you might not play at all. So now what happens?”
Giants Work Out USFL Offensive Player of the Year Mark Thompson: Report
Barkley’s team might gamble on a Gambler to help replace him.
Big Blue worked out reigning USFL Offensive Player of the Year Mark Thompson, according to Big Blue View’s Dan Benton. The 28-year-old running back rushed for 653 yards and 14 touchdowns in seven starts for the Houston Gamblers last spring.
Thompson also has NFL stops with the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Detroit Lions and Las Vegas Raiders.
stay tuned.
A Thompson signing would add even more depth to New York’s running back room, even without Barkley.
That room now includes former 1,000-yard rusher James Robinson, veterans Matt Brieda and Gary Brightwell and fifth-round rookie selection Eric Gray.