Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO through July 30 and is available to stream on Max.
Tuesday's installment of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants offered some semblance of finality to the Saquon Barkley situation that swirled early in the offseason.
The series' third episode dug into free agency as Big Blue attempted to build up the roster following a difficult campaign. It became clear over the course of the first two episodes that general manager Joe Schoen had a financial figure he didn't want to go over in an attempt to keep Barkley. Co-owner John Mara had a different view on the former No. 2 overall pick.
"I'll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that," Mara said to Schoen at one point during the process. "As I've told you, just being around enough players, he's the most popular player we have, by far."
To his credit, Mara didn't push Schoen to go above and beyond, breaking his financial plans to retain Barkley.
Hard Knocks cameras provided insight into how the GM handled the negotiations, showing calls to Barkley's agent, Ed Berry, and Mara during the process.
Schoen on the phone with Berry: "Hello? Ed Berry, what's up, buddy? Alright, well, I'm putting this together, so in order to get Saquon, what would we have to do? I mean, again, this was kind of the whole point, was you would go out, find out what it is, and I'll just say, 'Yeah, we're not going to be able to do that' or 'Yes we can.' I mean, you've talked to him, if he wants to be here, there's no sense in going back and forth. You say, 'Hey, this is what he wants to be here,' we'll say, 'Yes, we'll do it,' or 'No, we won't' as I'm going through this. So 12.5 [million], you said? On a three-year? And then what'd you say the guarantee was? 25 [million] guaranteed. OK, so that's, if I offered him today a three-year deal at 12.5 [million] APY and 25 [guaranteed], he'd be a Giant? OK, alright, well I'll give you a call back, this may be above me on Saquon, but if I call you back and it's three for 12.5 APY and 25 guaranteed, there you go? We'll bring him down today, we'll fly you up, do a press conference. Alright, appreciate you, buddy."
Schoen on the phone with Mara: "Hey John, how're you doing? I talked to the agent, and the agreement all along was that he would come back to me with a chance to match it. … I told the agent, I said if we match that deal, he's going to be a Giant. And he's like, 'Well…' You know, he hemmed and hawed, he's like, I'm not saying that, we've got a lot of work to do if that happens."
Ultimately, Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million deal that included $26 million guaranteed with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles. It didn't appear that the Giants actually made an official offer to Barkley.
"Good day for you, good day to be Ed Berry," Schoen said on a phone call receiving the news of Barkley's offer. "What's he going to get? North of what you said? 12.5 APY, 25 guaranteed, north of that? OK, we're not going to go there. We're out. … Is it in the division? I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for what's going to happen, that's all."
The Giants turned their attention to signing Devin Singletary to lead the backfield and upgraded the offensive line with Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan. The episode made it clear building the trenches was a goal this offseason, with the GM and coach Brian Daboll agreeing that the team needed "inside players."
The Barkley situation underscores the tough decisions GMs must make during the roster-building process. Seeing the star running back head to a division rival for just slightly more than they were potentially prepared to offer, however, doesn't make it much easier to swallow.