The New York Giants decided to pass on re-signing star running back Saquon Barkley this offseason, allowing him to defect to the rival Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal.
The Giants landed on Devin Singletary in free agency instead, signing him to a deal with less than half of that (three years, $16.5 million).
But before they came to terms with Singletary and hedged on Barkley, general manager Joe Schoen had his sights on another free agent — Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing yards (1,653) in 2022.
Jacobs signed with the Green Bay Packers for four years at $48 million on March 11, the first day of free agency.
During a recent interview with The Athletic, Jacobs revealed that the Giants had actually offered Jacobs more than Green Bay and more than Barkley.
The Giants came on strong with an offer between $3 million and $4 million more than he eventually accepted. But Jacobs was turned off by the New York taxes, lifestyle, media and the artificial turf at MetLife Stadium.
When the Packers offered $48 million over four years, he was intrigued, but he still pictured himself as a Raider for life. In his mind, his first team wasn’t his employer as much as his home. So he gave the Raiders an opportunity to match. When they said no, he told them he would accept less than the Packers offered if they included incentives. The Raiders turned him down.
It doesn’t take long for players to notice certain factors about the New York Metropolitan area. Some players would love to play here, but many are now seeing what Jacobs sees.
The media is non-stop, and if you’re a small-town guy who likes to keep things simple, New York is a difficult place to lay low. The taxes are a turnoff and the MetLife Stadium turf has ruined many a career.
The real takeaway from this piece is that the Giants were in on Jacobs and for big money. Until today, we were unaware of that.
So, they were willing to allocate a huge chunk of cap space to a running back, just not Saquon Barkley. That changes the perspective on many of the conversations Schoen had about running backs on HBO’s Hard Knocks.
What would have happened if Jacobs accepted the Giants’ offer? We’ll never know now, but this news shows how well Joe Schoen can hide his cards.
