"Could you imagine him in Buffalo?" - NFL insider sees the Bills as the perfect fit for Saquon Barkley
Packed to the brim with offensive firepower, one NFL insider feels that the Buffalo Bills could become even more explosive.
As the New York Giants prepare to enter a new era under head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, questions have been raised about the status of the Dave Gettleman era holdover, Saquon Barkley. The running back, set to enter his fifth season after entering the league as 2018's second overall pick, could be prime trade bait as the Giants continue to hold the reset button in an attempt to free themselves from one of the most brutal stretches in franchise history.
If the Giants opt to go that route, ESPN NFL insider Mike Tannenbaum has an ideal destination: Western New York. The former general manager of the New York Jets detailed why Barkley and the Bills are a perfect match in Friday's edition of the Worldwide Leader's morning program "Get Up!".
"They're in one player away (from the Super Bowl) mode," Tannenbaum said, claiming that the Bills have also looked into Tampa Bay tight end and four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski. "Can you imagine a healthy Saquon Barkley with Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen? Boy, that would be a tough offense to stop."
Would Saquon Barkley be worth it for the Bills?
Buffalo is undoubtedly well-built to contend for the next few Super Bowls, thanks primarily to an offense led by Allen. The franchise thrower has partly sustained the Bills' rushing picture, helping them finish sixth in total ground yardage last season. Buffalo hasn't boasted a 1,000-yard rusher since LeSean McCoy in 2017 but enjoyed a career-best season from current primary back Devin Singletary (870 yards, seven touchdowns). While Singletary still has plenty of upside, there's no doubt that a talent like Barkley could work wonders with a group that already features Allen, Diggs, Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis, and Dawson Knox. As a result of their antics, the Bills are coming off consecutive AFC East division titles and reached the conference title game at the end of the 2020-21 season. Barkley has proven he's capable of big play efforts, earning 2,310 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns over his first two seasons.
The same fans who are clamoring for the Giants to trade Saquon Barkley…will be the same ones who are cheering the loudest on here when he is making these plays again in 2022.
Guaranteed.
https://t.co/CpZqyFWIxk
Major questions, however, surround Barkley's health. After playing all 16 games in his rookie season, Barkley has missed 21 contests over the last three seasons due to injury, 14 alone coming after suffering a torn ACL in 2020. Tannenbaum's co-hosts, including Sam Acho and Dan Graziano, note that this means that any team trading for Barkley could get him at a potentially low price, but the former general manager notes that the team that trades for the running back will likely seek to extend him. Barkley is entering the final year of his original rookie contract, whose fifth-year, $7.2 million option was picked up last April. According to Over the Cap, Buffalo will need to unload some contracts if they're going to make any moves this offseason, as they're currently $6 million over.
Thus, the consensus amongst experts of Get Up! (which also included Ryan Clark and Ryan Smith) was that the Giants will likely keep Barkley, entering a new era with at least some big-play potential. Tannenbaum himself admitted that the "best-case scenario" in terms of the Giants' return from the Bills would be a "bottom of the second round" pick (where Buffalo chooses in the 57th overall slot). For the time being, Bills fans shouldn't tape over No. 26 jerseys with Barkley's name over Singletary's.