It’s bad enough that New York Giants fans have been subjected to their team’s play each week. But their pain is heightened by seeing former Giants thriving around the league.
It’s seemingly impossible to turn on an NFL game and avoid seeing a former Giant making plays as New York sputters through arguably the worst season in its 100-year history. There’s a distinct possibility that two players the Giants let walk in free agency this offseason will win NFL Offensive Player of the Year (Saquon Barkley) and NFL Defensive Player of the Year (Xavier McKinney) awards in their new locales.
That’s a tough pill to swallow for the 2-10 Giants. So how did the worst team in the league let so much talent leave under third-year general manager Joe Schoen’s watch?
Here’s a review of how four Pro Bowl-level players have left the Giants since the 2023 offseason and Schoen’s attempts to replace them:
Departure: RB Saquon Barkley, Eagles
2024 stats: 246 carries, 1,499 yards, 11 TD, 1,766 scrimmage yards, 13 total TD
2024 cap hit: $3.8 million
Beginning during the 2022 bye week and extending until the summer of 2023, Schoen and Barkley’s agents spent nine months unsuccessfully negotiating a long-term contract. Once Barkley played the 2023 season on the franchise tag, his fate was sealed with the Giants.
GO DEEPER
Eagles RB Saquon Barkley returns to New York, where the hard feelings remain fresh
The Giants didn’t make an offer to Barkley this offseason. Instead, they let him test the open market. Much to Giants owner John Mara’s chagrin, any hope of a return disappeared when the Eagles offered a three-year, $37.8 million contract with $26 million guaranteed at the start of free agency.
The Giants’ best offer during the 2023 season had a slightly higher average annual value than the Eagles deal, but the sides couldn’t bridge a small gap on the guaranteed money. For a few million more guaranteed, the Giants could have signed Barkley, which would have freed them to use the franchise tag on quarterback Daniel Jones. If that had happened, Barkley would be finishing the second year of a three-year deal that would have included a reasonable out for the team after this season.
Of course, the Giants wouldn’t be looking to move on from Barkley if he was performing like he has in Philadelphia. The 27-year-old leads the league in carries, rushing yards, yards per carry and yards from scrimmage as he makes a case to be the first non-quarterback to win MVP since Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012.
Barkley’s monster season has amplified the criticism of Schoen, especially as “Hard Knocks” demonstrated that the GM didn’t grasp the back’s market. Schoen also seemed to underestimate Barkley’s leadership. Barkley is still popular in the Giants’ locker room despite dominating with a division rival, and he was instrumental in keeping the team together as last season teetered on going off the rails.
late-game hero 🦸@saquon | @Eagles pic.twitter.com/pggpjizN1b
— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024
Replacement: RB Tyrone Tracy Jr./Devin Singletary
2024 stats: 212 carries, 968 yards, 7 TD, 1,245 scrimmage yards, 7 total TD
2024 cap hit: $4.6 million
Schoen split the difference on paying a veteran running back. Rather than spending at the top of the market to retain Barkley, he gave the 27-year-old Singletary a three-year, $16.5 million deal with $9.5 million guaranteed.
The Giants eventually transitioned to Tracy, who has validated the belief that teams don’t need to pay top dollar for running back production. The fifth-round pick has provided excellent value, with three 100-yard games and a 5.0 yards per carry average. Tracy’s four fumbles have become a concern, but he has upside even though he’s a 25-year-old rookie because he’s only in his second year as a running back.
It would be easier to celebrate Tracy’s emergence if Barkley wasn’t on pace for an all-time season. But even though Tracy will likely never ascend to Barkley’s level, the rookie’s production supports Schoen’s vision at arguably the most fungible position in the game.
Departure: S Xavier McKinney, Packers
2024 stats: 63 tackles, 7 interceptions, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
2024 cap hit: $7.8 million
Few details emerged about how serious the Giants’ offers were to re-sign McKinney this offseason. His free agency was barely mentioned on the Barkley-centric “Hard Knocks.”
The only thing that was clear on “Hard Knocks” was that Green Bay’s four-year, $67 million offer with $23 million guaranteed was far above Schoen’s projection. There was speculation the Giants could use the $13.8 million transition tag to keep McKinney, which wouldn’t have been welcomed by the player or his super agent David Mulugheta. The Giants elected not to go that route, and the 26-year-old captain packed his bags.
More than declining to out-bid the Packers, the bigger second-guess with McKinney’s departure is that the Giants didn’t try to extend him the previous offseason when his value was depressed. McKinney missed seven games during the 2022 season due to a hand injury suffered during a bye week ATV accident. Waiting to negotiate allowed 31 other teams to bid on McKinney, and the Packers were willing to make him the fourth-highest paid safety in the league.
That hefty investment has been justified by McKinney having a defensive player of the year-caliber season due to his league-leading seven interceptions. McKinney’s absence is magnified by the Giants having just one interception this season.
7th INT for Xavier McKinney!
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/GDZL85KfPU
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) November 24, 2024
Replacement: S Tyler Nubin
2024 stats: 93 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
2024 cap hit: $1.5 million
This is another instance of Schoen replacing an expensive proven star with a draft pick at a fraction of the cost. The hope is that Nubin can follow McKinney’s path as a second-round pick who blossoms into a game-changer.
Like McKinney, Nubin rarely comes off the field. Nubin also has leadership qualities that should become more pronounced as he gains experience, so that could help fill the void left by the two-time captain McKinney.
Nubin has been effective playing nearly the line of scrimmage, but he has a surprising lack of ball production after being a ballhawk in college. Bad angles and missed tackles by Nubin have contributed to the Giants allowing big runs. There’s potential for Nubin to develop into a McKinney-level player, but he’s a long way from that at this early stage of his career.
Departure: DL Leonard Williams, Seahawks
2024 stats: 35 tackles, 10 TFL, 7 sacks, 1 INT
2024 cap hit: $10.4 million
The Giants traded Williams to the Seahawks at season’s trade deadline for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick. The Giants picked up the remainder of Williams’ salary to facilitate the deal, so they essentially paid $9 million for a second-round pick. Williams re-signed in Seattle on a three-year, $64.5 million contract with $26.2 million guaranteed this offseason.
This trade made complete sense at the time, as the Giants were 2-6 and got two picks for a 29-year-old impending free agent. The reason the trade has aged poorly is because — stop me if you’ve heard this before — Williams is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career with his new team. And the Giants’ failure to remotely fill Williams’ shoes has made his star turn in Seattle harder to stomach.
LEONARD WILLIAMS 91-YARD PICK-6 🔥
📺: #SEAvsNYJ on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/8CECV6s1AL— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
Replacement: OLB Brian Burns
2024 stats: 52 tackles, 10 TFL, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble
2024 cap hit: $15.5 million
This is a bit of a stretch since Burns doesn’t play the same position as Williams, but the Giants essentially reallocated their big money for a pass rusher from the interior to the edge. The Giants did recognize the value of having a premier defensive tackle to pair with Dexter Lawrence, as Christian Wilkins was a top free-agent target.
Wilkins signed a four-year, $109.9 million contract with $57.5 million guaranteed with the Raiders. The Giants instead focused on Burns, trading a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Panthers for the 26-year-old. The Giants gave Burns a five-year, $141 million contract with $76 million guaranteed as part of the trade.
Burns has made a similar impact on the edge that Williams made at defensive tackle. But there remains a void from Williams’ departure because Schoen made no meaningful additions at the position this offseason. Compounding the problem, quality veteran defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson left in free agency for a three-year, $22.5 million contract from the Panthers. The second defensive tackle spot has been a major weakness for one of the worst run defenses in the league.
The Giants will need to make a premium investment at defensive tackle this offseason, whether in the draft or free agency. Williams, who was particularly close with Lawrence, was another respected leader whose presence hasn’t been replaced in the locker room.
Departure: S Julian Love, Seahawks
2024 stats: 82 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles
2024 cap hit: $6.5 million
Love was a valuable utility man in his first three seasons after being a fourth-round pick in 2019. He blossomed into a productive starter and valuable leader when he became a full-time starter at safety in 2022.
The Giants wanted to keep Love, offering him a three-year, $22.5 million contract during the bye week in 2022, according to a league source. The details of the guarantees in that offer aren’t known, but it likely would have had a team-friendly structure that would have allowed the Giants to move on early at minimal cost while maintaining contractual control for three years if Love played well.
Love expected a more lucrative contract in free agency, but the market unexpectedly lagged during the 2023 offseason. With Love seeking a contract worth $10 million per year, the Giants moved on and pulled the bye-week offer.
Love could only manage a two-year, $12 million offer from the Seahawks with $6 million guaranteed a few days into free agency. Love gave the Giants an opportunity to match, but the team declined, according to a league source.
The other departures on this list had higher stakes and have had greater repercussions, but this might be the most questionable decision. The Giants could have kept a young, core player for less than they had been willing to pay four months earlier, but they had already decided to close the door. And it’s not as if the Giants were on a tight budget during the 2023 offseason. They spent on players like Robinson, wide receiver Parris Campbell and tight end Darren Waller, who were all gone within a year.
Everything worked out for Love, who raised his game in Seattle to earn his first Pro Bowl selection. The 26-year-old was rewarded this offseason with the type of contract he was seeking in 2023 when he signed a three-year, $33 million extension in Seattle with $13.2 million guaranteed.
J Love brought the force. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/gBmcykh7nz
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 3, 2024
Replacement: S Jason Pinnock
2024 stats: 53 tackles, 3 sacks
2024 cap hit: $3.1 million
Schoen has gone dirt cheap at safety, replacing Love and McKinney with Pinnock and Nubin over the past two years. Pinnock was promoted to a full-time starting role last season in place of Love after showing promise filling in for McKinney in 2022.
An elite athlete, Pinnock was a better fit as a blitzer in former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s system. With no interceptions and just one pass defended, Pinnock isn’t bringing any ball production to the secondary. And he’s a major downgrade from Love as a tackler, with Pinnock’s missed tackles and poor angles responsible for springing some long runs. Pinnock will be a free agent after the season. Schoen will need to invest in an upgrade at that spot.
When each move is examined individually, there’s rational behind the thought process. But cumulatively, every decision has had the worst possible outcome — at least at this point.
Perhaps Barkley and McKinney will come back to earth as they age. Or maybe Tracy and Nubin will become stars at a fraction of the cost to make everyone forget about the players they replaced.
But as the Giants bottom out in Year 3 of Schoen’s regime, it’s hard to reconcile that he’s let a handful of the best players from his one successful season leave. Obviously, making the biggest commitment to Jones from that group has exacerbated the state of the team.
If Schoen gets a fourth year, he may want to reconsider his adherence to positional value, especially when his most talented players and strongest leaders are involved. Maybe paying Barkley and McKinney wouldn’t have been wise investments. But Schoen’s inability to redirect those savings into a competitive roster has called into question everything about his process.
(Photos of Xavier McKinney and Saquon Barkley: Stacy Revere and Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
