Giants Saquon Barkley debacle could undermine Hard Knocks future as GMs look to avoid smoke
Hard Knocks revealing how New York Giants handled Saquon Barkley's departure has teams scared of allowing cameras.
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New York Giants GM Joe Schoen fumbled Saquon Barkley's release on Hard Knocks (Image via NFL/X)
Saquon Barkley has gone from not being wanted by the New York Giants, to becoming the best running back in the league, to holding the Vince Lombardi trophy. No one would have envisioned this from happening after everyone saw how he was let go on Hard Knocks.
That particular episode featuring Giants GM Joe Schoen has become part of Hard Knocks folklore. At that time, the entire world saw how he let go of his star running back. He believed his team would be better off not paying Barkley what he deserved.
Hard Knocks came into the spotlight when Shannon Sharpe’s wit made the offseason series become a national hit. Since then, not all seasons have been great, but there were some situations that made it worth watching.
Antonio Brown‘s mired time with the Las Vegas Raiders, or an emotional Ryan Poles being forced to cut a player, the series have had their moments. But no one envisioned the moment involving Joe Schoen and Saquon Barkley to take precedence.
In retrospect, that viral clip has made the GM and the New York Giants the laughingstock of the NFL. Fans wanted the franchise to fire Schoen after his decisions this past season send them spiraling downward. But the role Hard Knocks played, has brought about a different problem.
Hard Knocks might not find takers
The series now is looking for its next team. They will likely look at teams at the bottom end of the 2024 regular season ladder. But Tom Pelissero was speaking on The Rich Eisen Show earlier and had a thought about this entire Hard Knocks process.
From what I’ve been told, a very, very, very warm place would have to freeze over before a team in the NFL agrees to do an offseason Hard Knocks again. This is what I’ve been told from all 32 teams.
Tom Pelissero said
The NFL Network insider believes this past season’s discourse surrounding Saquon Barkley leaving New York, then having a record setting season along with winning the Super Bowl has other teams jittery. They might not want to be at the receiving end of the bad publicity the Giants received.
It will be very hard for any discourse to top what transpired with the New York Giants. The only way out would be is to win the Super Bowl. But that is the toughest thing to do in this league, which means, Hard Knocks offseason could be in jeopardy.
The only solution Tom Pelissero thinks can save the series is if they approach the Philadelphia Eagles. The Super Bowl champions have shown what it takes to win. Their decisions have resulted in major success. Therefore, it would be safer to record their offseason than to ask franchises that do not want that smoke.
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