PALM BEACH, Fla. — Giants GM Joe Schoen was adamant on Monday that neither he nor any member of the Giants’ front office has shopped Saquon Barkley once to another team this offseason.
Schoen said he was misinterpreted at the NFL Combine when he said he was “open to everything” and willing to listen to offers on all his players, Barkley included.
“Yeah I mean that was taken a little bit out of context at the combine,” Schoen said Monday. “I haven’t called one team on Saquon Barkley, OK? Everybody ran with that from the combine. I said I would listen if people called on any player and I would be irresponsible if I didn’t. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna do every deal. So I haven’t called one team about Saquon Barkley.”
Schoen also answered “no” when asked if any members of his front office had made overtures to other teams about Barkley.
Schoen did say he’s taken calls from interested teams on the fifth-year running back.
“I’ve gotten calls about a few of our players. He’s one,” Schoen said of Barkley. “A couple of teams have reached out. But again, I’m not shopping Saquon Barkley.”
The Giants’ first-year GM did not completely slam the door shut on trading Barkley or any player on his roster.
When asked to say that he won’t trade corner James Bradberry, Schoen said: “I’m not gonna say that. I’m not gonna say that about anybody. People have called about certain players, and people have value.”
Bradberry will be traded, according to sources, with the Texans, Chiefs and Colts as the teams to watch.
Schoen arrived at his media availability at the NFL owners’ meetings intent on stamping out the noise around Barkley, however, entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract with a $7.2 million salary cap hit.
League sources had told the Daily News that the Giants floated Barkley’s name to other teams at the combine. On Monday, Schoen was saying that isn’t true.
Multiple sources believe that the likely low return in a possible Barkley trade (fifth-round pick, plus eating some salary) might have deterred conversations from going further.
But Schoen was unequivocal that he is not actively seeking a trade of Barkley, only taking calls when they come. He disputes that the Giants reached out to any team once about a deal.
“Not at one point did I say we’re shopping Saquon or we’re gonna trade him,” Schoen said. “That’s not how the context was. I reached out to him right away and let him know. I know people ran with it and said we were shopping him.”
Co-owner John Mara had said on Sunday that the Giants weren’t shopping Barkley but said he is “not gonna interfere” if Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have conviction about a personnel decision.
And Will Hernandez’s signing with the Arizona Cardinals on Monday — the same day the Giants agreed with veteran guard Max Garcia, 30, on a one-year deal — leaves Barkley as the lone member of Dave Gettleman’s 2018 draft class still on the Giants’ roster.
Schoen threw a lot of support behind Barkley on Monday, though. He said he called Barkley about an hour after his NFL Combine press conference generated headlines to clarify the situation and that he spoke to Barkley’s agent, as well.
“I reached out to him immediately after all that happened,” Schoen said. “It’d be irresponsible if a team calls — I think 31 other teams would say the same thing — if somebody’s gonna call and offer something ridiculous, you’re gonna listen. It doesn’t mean you’re gonna do the deal and say yes to it. We’ve got an offensive head coach. He likes to have as many weapons as he can.”
Schoen said he didn’t want to speak for how Barkley feels, but said “I feel like from my end we’ve had good communication, and he’s got a good relationship with Dabes, and they’ve had good conversations, too. So I think we’re in a good spot.”
So will he commit to a long-term contract with Barkley, then?
“That’s all stuff we can discuss down the road,” Schoen said. “I remember what he was when he came out [in the draft]. Then he had an ACL and an ankle last year. I’m looking forward to working with him. That’s all stuff we can decide down the road.”
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