Anatomy of a franchise-killing decision: The day the Giants chose Daniel Jones over Saquon Barkley

Conventional wisdom in the NFL is that you pay quarterbacks and replace running backs. The former is appreciated. The latter is consumable.

Perhaps that’s what ultimately drove the New York Giants braintrust to make one of the most brainless decisions in recent league history — to double-team quarterback Daniel Jones despite a lack of evidence of his ability, leaving themselves without the resources to keep running back Saquon Barkley, who redefines value at his position.

Ultimately, it’s going to cost all of their jobs after already costing the Giants (2-8) another season.

Jones was benched Monday for backup Tommy DeVito, presumably ending Jones’ six seasons in New York with a dismal 22-44-1 record as a starter.

Barkley, meanwhile, is in Philadelphia, coming off a 146-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance (plus another 52 receiving yards) in a win over Washington as the 8-2 Eagles, who swept in to outbid the Giants last offseason, dream of the Super Bowl.

Barkley, with his 1,137 rushing yards and 10 total scores on the season, is a fair inclusion in any league MVP talk.

Make no mistake, one decision led to another, a series of NFC East dominoes where the smart take from the confused.

After the 2022 season, the Giants sought to sign long-term deals with — or place a franchise tag on — Jones and Barkley. Jones had been a draft pick sixth overall in 2019 coming out of Duke. He hadn’t done much to show that he deserved a contract extension. New York was coming off a playoff appearance, including a weekend wild-card win, but Jones’ production didn’t seem to be the reason — just 15 touchdowns that season. In the 31-7 playoff loss to Philly, he threw for just 135 yards and no touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Barkley was not only the face of the Giants’ franchise, but the heart of it — an otherworldly skillful back. He had rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 scores, and as the key to the Giants offense, he undoubtedly played a large role in the success Jones had.

Still, it was Jones that the Giants dropped a four-year extension worth up to $160 million on, leading to a cap hit of $47.855 million for the 2024 season, according to Spotrac.com.

That same offseason, the Giants offered Barkley a three-year deal that topped out at just $13 million, according to the New York Post. Only $19.5 million was guaranteed. Barkley declined. The Giants franchise tagged him for the 2023 season (at $10.1 million for the season), but after battling through injuries, the relationship between player and front office soured.

New York asked Barkley to go out and test the free agent market and they would consider matching the best offer. Apparently sensing the situation could backfire, Giants owner John Mara told general manager Joe Schoen on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” that “I’m going to have trouble sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia.”

Schoen tapped into limited interest in a 27-year-old running back. He was wrong. Philly outbid Houston and Chicago, offering a three-year, $37.75 million contract with $26 million guaranteed (more than New York was willing to give a season before).

The giants were cooked.

Barkley has been cast as a villain for New York fans, but in the end he ended up with far more guaranteed money and doesn’t seem to have lost a step.

If anything, joining a team with championship aspirations has revitalized his career. It was only two weeks ago that he jumped backwards over a defender and showed that his athleticism hasn’t disappeared.

Jones, meanwhile, has been a mess this season without his star ball carrier. His completion percentage has dropped to 63.3 percent from 67.5 percent the season before, and he has thrown seven interceptions against just eight touchdowns.

While Barkley is averaging 5.8 yards per carry. carry in Philly, the entire Giants running game is just 4.4 yards per carry. try without him.

Most notably, the Giants lost straight to lowly Carolina.

Jones is now benched, unlikely — barring injury — to ever throw another pass in a Giants uniform. What exactly made New York believe in a quarterback who never showed much over a running back who did everything remains a mystery.

Had they franchised Jones through the 2023 season and then moved on after he played just six games due to injury, New York could have tried to tap into the rich quarterback draft class last spring — six taken in the top dozen picks.

Instead, they will enter this offseason with a high draft pick, but get exciting QB options coming out of college. Scouts told Yahoo’s Charles Robinson that this could be a historically weak group of passers.

Positional value is one thing, but football teams can’t just operate on a spreadsheet. At some point, real value – on the field, by complementing the productivity of others and in the locker room – must be recognized.

The Giants went big on Daniel Jones and tried to shrink Saquon Barkley.

Now everyone back in New York is out of a job while the running back keeps sprinting for more daylight, with more money, in Philly.