NFL teams and GMs always have to make difficult decisions.
More often than not, they make decisions they know won’t be popular or met well by the fans, the media, or even the players, but that’s just a part of the job.
That was the case with New York Giants GM Joe Schoen and Saquon Barkley.
The Giants drew plenty of criticism for the way they dealt with Barkley’s situation, particularly after some clips of how things transpired went public on HBO’s Hard Knocks.
With that in mind, NFL reporter Peter Schrager reached out to Schoen to clear the air on the matter.
Joe Schoen and I recapped the entire episode 3 of “Hard Knocks” on the official Hard Knocks podcast. Here’s a snipet. @NFLFilms @HBO @nflnetwork
Listen to the entire convo wherever you find your podcasts. pic.twitter.com/UBTYCBedoL
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) July 18, 2024
Schoen admitted that it was a very difficult decision but it was all about the money, as they didn’t even know what the salary cap was going to be for the season.
He stated that they thought that they would only have $15 million available in cap space, thus making it very difficult for them to hold onto Barkley.
The Giants put themselves in that position by waiting an additional year to sign him, as they could’ve signed him when they signed Daniel Jones and then used the franchise tag on their quarterback.
At the end of the day, Schoen had to prioritize over areas of their roster, even if that came at his best player’s expense.
Barkley didn’t need a lot of time to find himself a new home and a team that would gladly pay him as much money as he wanted, and only time will tell who got the short end of the stick in this story.
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