GM Joe Schoen: 'This is the year' for Daniel Jones to show if he is Giants' guy for next decade

The premiere episode of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants started with a look into the Giants’ biggest offseason decisions: the fates of Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.

Their futures in New York were more interconnected than it initially seemed.

Simply put, the Giants’ decision to give Jones another chance to justify his large extension after a season marred by injury, effectively ended any possibility of Barkley’s return to New York.

“Jones is receiving $40 million from you,” said Joe Schoen, the General Manager of Giants. “This is not for passing the ball to a back who’s earning $12 million.”

Well, if you look at it from that perspective…

Jones is responsible for approximately 20% of the Giants’ salary cap for 2024. This largely influenced the decision not to apply the franchise tag to Barkley, which would have cost $12 million annually. Tim McDonnell, the Giants’ director of player personnel, questioned the team’s offensive identity should they lose Saquon. Schoen responded stating that the Giants believed they had other more pressing issues, hence they could not justify overspending on Barkley, who held a less critical position.

Schoen stated, “Addressing the offensive line at some point during free agency is part of my plan. With us sitting at number 6, there’s a possibility of an offensive weapon being available.”

This is Daniel’s year. The plan was always to give him a few years. Is he going to be our main guy for the next decade? Or do we have to change direction and look for someone else?

That’s the reality the Giants are facing this season. Jones is coming off a neck injury and a torn ACL entering a critical Year 6 with the franchise. The addition of first-round wide receiver Malik Nabers could help immensely, but the offensive line must improve immensely from last year’s performance or Jones might never have a shot.

Schoen stated, “The truth is, Jones has suffered three severe injuries in the past two years. We must take measures to protect ourselves. He barely had an opportunity to play this year. That’s a legitimate concern. Similar to an offseason, our main players who were supposed to play together have played less than 60 snaps together. In Miami, we even had three practice squad players on the field for us.”

Even if you had Pat Mahomes, he wouldn’t be able to win with that. I’m not abandoning Jones. He’s still under contract for three more years. We’re merely safeguarding ourselves because the past is the best predictor of the future.

It is evident that Schoen is betting on a better future in this case, which helped clarify his reasoning for letting Barkley leave this offseason.