Kayvon Thibodeaux Weighs in on Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones Contract Negotiations
The New York Giants quarterback position is among the most scrutinized in the entire National Football League. The amount of attention placed on the most critical position on the football field in the largest city in America is like no other.
While there is a split among the fan base and media as to whether the Giants erred in signing incumbent starter Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract, his teammate, outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, weighed in on the matter during a recent appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast hosted by former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero.
"Me, I believe in Daniel Jones," Thibodeaux said.
However, Thibodeaux expressed disappointment that Jones was paid before running back Saquon Barkley.
"What I'm mad about is that Saquon, because if you look at the game, the tape, Saquon was responsible for at least 30 percent of our explosive plays the year we won the playoff game," Thibodeaux said.
"So, for me and the integrity of working together and hard work, and we all believe the same things, I feel like Saquon should have got paid first."
Barkley finished the 2022 season with 1,312 rushing yards and averaged 82 yards per game, both career highs. The Giants, who attempted to sign Barkley to an extension during the 2022 bye week, tried to work out a multiyear deal after the season ended, reportedly offering a contract that would have paid as high as $14.5 million per year. But Barkley, who repeatedly said that he didn't want to re-set the market at his position, rejected at least two known contract offers by the Giants after the season ended.
Meanwhile, Jones's negotiations went down to the wire but were completed just before the franchise tag deadline ended. With Jones signed to a new deal, the Giants applied the tag to Barkley, with whom they continued to try to reach a new deal to no avail.
Barkley, who added Ed Berry to his contract negotiating team late in June of last year as a last-ditch attempt to break the stalemate, eventually signed the franchise tag, which was slightly modified to pay him up to $11 million in the team made the playoffs and he reached certain incentives.
Barkley initially contemplated skipping training camp, but he would later reveal that he had an epiphany when he showed up for training camp on time. The Giants would finish 6-11 with Jones missing most of the season and Barkley finishing with 962 rushing yards.
While Barkley had done enough to warrant a long-term contract from the Giants, how contracts are mainly handled depends on positional value and timing. When Barkley was up for a new contract, the running back position wasn't valued by NFL owners who felt that running backs usually have short careers in the league. That was evident when two other running backs, Tony Pollard of the Dallas Cowboys and Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders, also received the franchise tag.
Conversely, it is a quarterback-driven league. The Giants, who held the 25th pick in last year's draft, likely realized they wouldn't be able to get a quarterback, so they decided to run it back with Jones, with a four-year deal that has an out after the 2024 season.
Still, critics argue that the Giants bid against themselves by not letting Jones test the market. But with Jones having had the success he had in 2022, which resulted in the team's first postseason berth since 2016 and a win in the Wild Card round, general manager Joe Schoen's decision to run it back with Jones did make some sense.
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