February 27, 2024 • 9 mins
Paul Dottino, host and reporter for WFAN, joins Next Up to address the rumors surrounding NFL running back Saquon Barkley leaving the New York Giants to sign with the Houston Texans in free agency. Various reports state that the Giants are unlikely to use the franchise tag on Barkley, and Texans fans were hopeful he would land in Houston after Barkley followed C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Devin Singletary and Brevin Jordan on social media. However, with the increase of NFL salary cap, Barkley opting to remain in New York is still feasible. The Giants "are not going to let [Barkley] walk," Dottino said. Dottino gives it an "8 out of 10" chance that Barkley remains in New York. Barkley "changes the entire dynamic of the game," and "I still put him in the top five [of NFL running backs] even with a little bit of age and injury." While Barkley's NFL future remains undetermined, the team he chooses to sign with might just be the highest bidder. "As we all know, money talks."
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Well, last couple of days,there's been a lot of buzz about one
Saquon Barkley in the Houston Texans.As we know in the year twenty twenty
four, when you follow a teammember on Twitter, it means your interest
in going to that team and sojoin us. To give us a little
insight into Saquon Barkley and where hecould be headed this offseason is Paul Detino.
He is at Giants WFN on Twittercovering the New York Giants. Paul,
(00:23):
Welcome in Man, Hey, goodmorning, Nice to talk to you
guys. Absolutely, let's start there, Paul. What's been the vibe with
Sakuon Barkley there in his time inNew York? Obviously a high draft pick
that very beloved. I've seen allthe jerseys of Giants fans and all that.
Let's start there. Why would theGiants let Saquon just walk? Would
(00:43):
they try to keep him? Whereare they on Saquon? Well, first
of all, they're not going tolet him just walk, And yes,
they want to keep him. Hewants to stay. And on a scale
of one to ten, I'd sayit's an eight that he remains a Giant.
And I'm only giving a little bitof leeway in room here, because
I can't tell you one hundred percentof the beef behind his desire to stay.
(01:07):
He tells everybody and has for thelast season that he wants to be
a lifelong Giant and he wants tostay here. But as we all know,
money talks. So if his heartis where his wards are, then
I'll up that eight till probably anine and a half. If his wards
are hollow and he truly is onlygoing to go after a couple of dollars
(01:29):
more, then I'd say, youknow, the eight is a little more
realistic. And then there's always theother factor, which you never know.
It only takes one team to goabsolutely hogwile crazy and give you the keys
to Fort Knox and absolutely blow peopleaway, for instance Cleveland and Deshaun Watson
and give somebody a contract that actuallybelongs on Mars to potentially wind up swiping
(01:53):
a guy. So that's the onlyreason I'm going eight instead of ten.
Gotcha. So you're saying, ifthe Texans want to say Kwon Barkley,
they'd have to give him an astronomicalto make him one of the highest paid
running backs in the league. Andthe Giants at that point will go,
ah, you know what, we'regood. Probably more than just one of
the highest paid. They probably wouldhave to approach mccaffery's deal, if not
(02:15):
surpass his deal. I just again, I've gotten to know Barcley real well
during his time here with the Giants. He's always valued tradition, he values
the market here in New York,which obviously, when you do well like
they did during the playoffs in twentytwenty two, things explode. You saw,
(02:36):
even when he had some injuries,he was still able to market himself
through advertising. Because he's, sayKwon Barkley, He's a number two pick
in the draft, and he's aNew York football giant. There's an awful
lot to be said for that.So I think a team like Houston or
anybody else who really wants him isliterally going to have to blow him away
(02:57):
so that the heartstrings of New Yorkplus the marketing factor wind up going to
the wayside. I just don't seethat happening, especially after he's already had
a number of injuries. He's twentyseven years old. I suspect that a
team would be foolish to totally blowhim away with the kind of number that
(03:17):
it's going to take to grab him, and I'll give you something else while
we're on this topic. He wasrepresented by Wack Nation, which is one
of the most difficult football player agenciesto deal with. That was the agency
that was given the Giants so muchtrouble last year when they were trying to
come to terms on a deal.Well, as you probably know, he
(03:39):
got the franchise tag and then someonefrom CIA, a football agency that's known
from making deals. They don't breakthem, they make them if a player
really wants to stay somewhere and geta deal. These guys know how to
get it done. That's their primaryobjective. They're not after the highest number
(03:59):
they can get thereafter making their playerhappy and fulfilling his desires and wants.
Well, that was extremely significant becauseafter the tag was slapped on Barkley and
he brought in this guy from CIA, well what did he do. He
called up Joe Shane and said,hey, listen, I know there's been
a lot of trouble with this negotiation, but I'm involved in this now.
(04:20):
What can we do to kind ofmake this a little bit better? And
what happened The Giants ripped up theone year tag gave Barckley instead a brand
new one year contract with incentives andarrays, which goes to show you the
relationship that CNA was able to cultivateand foster for Broccoli and the Giants once
(04:44):
they got into this deal. Lightand Joe Shane himself, the Giants GM
said today at the combine that changein agency is a really good thing because
we really get along very well withthem. Now, if all these arrows
don't point to Barkley staying, then, guys, so somebody's got a cure
for blindness, because it's quite clearthe way this thing is supposed to go.
(05:04):
Paul Theatino w f an with ushere on Sports Talk seven to ninety
And Paul, you mentioned the McCaffreytype of deal and the injuries. Where
where do you have him right nowas far as looking forward and where do
you put him among the considering allthose factors among the best running backs in
the league. Well, I thinkhe's a top five now. I would
(05:27):
have said top three before we woundup getting a high ankle strain again this
year and it cost him a youknow, cost him some productivity again.
What he's healthy. What he's right, he's one of the top three backs
in the league. I don't considerhim a running backs. As a former
general manager Dave Gettleman said when hedrafted him number two, he's not a
(05:47):
running back. He's an offensive weaponand that and that's the key. He's
not just a running back. Youknow. I call guys who who keep
defensive coresinators up at night headache players, because those are the guys who it
all starts with. When they sitdown going into the weekend, they say,
(06:09):
we got to make a game plan. They're like, okay, before
we do anything else, this isthe guy that we got to take care
of, and this is what we'regoing to do to construct our game plan
to limit or contain him. Andthen we'll worry about the rest of them
in the next hour or so.But for the first hour we're game planning,
we've got to figure out how we'regoing to deal with this guy.
(06:30):
Those are headache players. Not everyteam has a headed player. The Giants,
in all honesty, as it standsright now, he's the only headache
player unless you count down Waller,who of course missed a lot of time
with injury last year and at onetime was a headache player for the Raiders.
That's the issue. Okay, whenyou have an offense that doesn't have
(06:54):
headache players, you make things somuch easier for the other team. Blackley
is a headache player. He changesthe entire dynamic of the game. He's
not just a guy you hand theball to, and that's what makes him
more special than just a standard runningback. And I still put him in
the top five even with a littlebit of agent, a little bit of
(07:15):
injury on his history. Talking withPaul Datino up there in New York and
Paul, you've just you've rained onour parade down here. We're all excited,
you know, guys start following CJ. Stroud on Twitter or like Ah
said, Quad, he's going tobe a Texan. But now it sounds
like you you'd think he's staying therein New York and he's going to be
a Giant. So I'll just askyou, as Paul, as we get
closer to the draft, Giants sittingthere with the number six pick, Daniel
(07:36):
Jones, big fat contract, he'scoming back from injury. If they do
keep, say Kwan, where dothey go with that number six pick?
Well, to me, it's prettyobvious that their biggest needs are along the
trenches and a big play. Theycertainly need a big play wide receiver.
Now, you know what's funny.There's a guy who you guys used to
(07:57):
have, DeAndre Hopkins, who Iwas always hoping the Giants could get their
hands on during last offseason, butit did not happen, and he had
another thousand campaign. Doesn't surprise me. He would have been a perfect fit
for this team. They need tostill work on their offensive line, they
need another pass rusher, and theyneed a big time wide receiver. Any
one of those three, I don'tthink you're looking at a big time pass
(08:18):
rusher at six if they stay there, and I'm not convinced that they're not
gonna move down, but if theystay there, it would seem to me
it's got to be one of thereceivers. And we all know that Neighbors
and Odonze are supposed to be thetwo guys who will be available at six,
and then we think that all mightbe available the offensive lineman at the
(08:39):
tackle or Forshatu, you know,the two offensive tackles at six. So
I would think it's probably gonna beone of those four guys. If it's
me, I'm taking O'donja because Ithink the Giants can help their offensive line
in the second and third rounds andI don't think you're gonna be able to
get an elite big a receiver,a headache player if you will, like
(09:03):
Odoonsay, if you wait till afterthat pick, that's funny. See,
I'm an LSU guy and I likeMoleakue neighbors and I've seen him slotted there
and it's funny. You got JalenHyde from Tennessee, Darius Layton from Auburn,
Wandelle Robins from Kentucky. It's allSEC guys up there. I don't
know what's going on with the draft, but kind of funny to see that
dynamic. He is Paul Detino.He's on Twitter at Giants w FA and
Paul, thanks so much for thetime, and I really appreciate it at
(09:26):
any times that it was good tobe with him.
Well, last couple of days,there's been a lot of buzz about one
Saquon Barkley in the Houston Texans.As we know in the year twenty twenty
four, when you follow a teammember on Twitter, it means your interest
in going to that team and sojoin us. To give us a little
insight into Saquon Barkley and where hecould be headed this offseason is Paul Detino.
He is at Giants WFN on Twittercovering the New York Giants. Paul,
(00:23):
Welcome in Man, Hey, goodmorning, Nice to talk to you
guys. Absolutely, let's start there, Paul. What's been the vibe with
Sakuon Barkley there in his time inNew York? Obviously a high draft pick
that very beloved. I've seen allthe jerseys of Giants fans and all that.
Let's start there. Why would theGiants let Saquon just walk? Would
(00:43):
they try to keep him? Whereare they on Saquon? Well, first
of all, they're not going tolet him just walk, And yes,
they want to keep him. Hewants to stay. And on a scale
of one to ten, I'd sayit's an eight that he remains a Giant.
And I'm only giving a little bitof leeway in room here, because
I can't tell you one hundred percentof the beef behind his desire to stay.
(01:07):
He tells everybody and has for thelast season that he wants to be
a lifelong Giant and he wants tostay here. But as we all know,
money talks. So if his heartis where his wards are, then
I'll up that eight till probably anine and a half. If his wards
are hollow and he truly is onlygoing to go after a couple of dollars
(01:29):
more, then I'd say, youknow, the eight is a little more
realistic. And then there's always theother factor, which you never know.
It only takes one team to goabsolutely hogwile crazy and give you the keys
to Fort Knox and absolutely blow peopleaway, for instance Cleveland and Deshaun Watson
and give somebody a contract that actuallybelongs on Mars to potentially wind up swiping
(01:53):
a guy. So that's the onlyreason I'm going eight instead of ten.
Gotcha. So you're saying, ifthe Texans want to say Kwon Barkley,
they'd have to give him an astronomicalto make him one of the highest paid
running backs in the league. Andthe Giants at that point will go,
ah, you know what, we'regood. Probably more than just one of
the highest paid. They probably wouldhave to approach mccaffery's deal, if not
(02:15):
surpass his deal. I just again, I've gotten to know Barcley real well
during his time here with the Giants. He's always valued tradition, he values
the market here in New York,which obviously, when you do well like
they did during the playoffs in twentytwenty two, things explode. You saw,
(02:36):
even when he had some injuries,he was still able to market himself
through advertising. Because he's, sayKwon Barkley, He's a number two pick
in the draft, and he's aNew York football giant. There's an awful
lot to be said for that.So I think a team like Houston or
anybody else who really wants him isliterally going to have to blow him away
(02:57):
so that the heartstrings of New Yorkplus the marketing factor wind up going to
the wayside. I just don't seethat happening, especially after he's already had
a number of injuries. He's twentyseven years old. I suspect that a
team would be foolish to totally blowhim away with the kind of number that
(03:17):
it's going to take to grab him, and I'll give you something else while
we're on this topic. He wasrepresented by Wack Nation, which is one
of the most difficult football player agenciesto deal with. That was the agency
that was given the Giants so muchtrouble last year when they were trying to
come to terms on a deal.Well, as you probably know, he
(03:39):
got the franchise tag and then someonefrom CIA, a football agency that's known
from making deals. They don't breakthem, they make them if a player
really wants to stay somewhere and geta deal. These guys know how to
get it done. That's their primaryobjective. They're not after the highest number
(03:59):
they can get thereafter making their playerhappy and fulfilling his desires and wants.
Well, that was extremely significant becauseafter the tag was slapped on Barkley and
he brought in this guy from CIA, well what did he do. He
called up Joe Shane and said,hey, listen, I know there's been
a lot of trouble with this negotiation, but I'm involved in this now.
(04:20):
What can we do to kind ofmake this a little bit better? And
what happened The Giants ripped up theone year tag gave Barckley instead a brand
new one year contract with incentives andarrays, which goes to show you the
relationship that CNA was able to cultivateand foster for Broccoli and the Giants once
(04:44):
they got into this deal. Lightand Joe Shane himself, the Giants GM
said today at the combine that changein agency is a really good thing because
we really get along very well withthem. Now, if all these arrows
don't point to Barkley staying, then, guys, so somebody's got a cure
for blindness, because it's quite clearthe way this thing is supposed to go.
(05:04):
Paul Theatino w f an with ushere on Sports Talk seven to ninety
And Paul, you mentioned the McCaffreytype of deal and the injuries. Where
where do you have him right nowas far as looking forward and where do
you put him among the considering allthose factors among the best running backs in
the league. Well, I thinkhe's a top five now. I would
(05:27):
have said top three before we woundup getting a high ankle strain again this
year and it cost him a youknow, cost him some productivity again.
What he's healthy. What he's right, he's one of the top three backs
in the league. I don't considerhim a running backs. As a former
general manager Dave Gettleman said when hedrafted him number two, he's not a
(05:47):
running back. He's an offensive weaponand that and that's the key. He's
not just a running back. Youknow. I call guys who who keep
defensive coresinators up at night headache players, because those are the guys who it
all starts with. When they sitdown going into the weekend, they say,
(06:09):
we got to make a game plan. They're like, okay, before
we do anything else, this isthe guy that we got to take care
of, and this is what we'regoing to do to construct our game plan
to limit or contain him. Andthen we'll worry about the rest of them
in the next hour or so.But for the first hour we're game planning,
we've got to figure out how we'regoing to deal with this guy.
(06:30):
Those are headache players. Not everyteam has a headed player. The Giants,
in all honesty, as it standsright now, he's the only headache
player unless you count down Waller,who of course missed a lot of time
with injury last year and at onetime was a headache player for the Raiders.
That's the issue. Okay, whenyou have an offense that doesn't have
(06:54):
headache players, you make things somuch easier for the other team. Blackley
is a headache player. He changesthe entire dynamic of the game. He's
not just a guy you hand theball to, and that's what makes him
more special than just a standard runningback. And I still put him in
the top five even with a littlebit of agent, a little bit of
(07:15):
injury on his history. Talking withPaul Datino up there in New York and
Paul, you've just you've rained onour parade down here. We're all excited,
you know, guys start following CJ. Stroud on Twitter or like Ah
said, Quad, he's going tobe a Texan. But now it sounds
like you you'd think he's staying therein New York and he's going to be
a Giant. So I'll just askyou, as Paul, as we get
closer to the draft, Giants sittingthere with the number six pick, Daniel
(07:36):
Jones, big fat contract, he'scoming back from injury. If they do
keep, say Kwan, where dothey go with that number six pick?
Well, to me, it's prettyobvious that their biggest needs are along the
trenches and a big play. Theycertainly need a big play wide receiver.
Now, you know what's funny.There's a guy who you guys used to
(07:57):
have, DeAndre Hopkins, who Iwas always hoping the Giants could get their
hands on during last offseason, butit did not happen, and he had
another thousand campaign. Doesn't surprise me. He would have been a perfect fit
for this team. They need tostill work on their offensive line, they
need another pass rusher, and theyneed a big time wide receiver. Any
one of those three, I don'tthink you're looking at a big time pass
(08:18):
rusher at six if they stay there, and I'm not convinced that they're not
gonna move down, but if theystay there, it would seem to me
it's got to be one of thereceivers. And we all know that Neighbors
and Odonze are supposed to be thetwo guys who will be available at six,
and then we think that all mightbe available the offensive lineman at the
(08:39):
tackle or Forshatu, you know,the two offensive tackles at six. So
I would think it's probably gonna beone of those four guys. If it's
me, I'm taking O'donja because Ithink the Giants can help their offensive line
in the second and third rounds andI don't think you're gonna be able to
get an elite big a receiver,a headache player if you will, like
(09:03):
Odoonsay, if you wait till afterthat pick, that's funny. See,
I'm an LSU guy and I likeMoleakue neighbors and I've seen him slotted there
and it's funny. You got JalenHyde from Tennessee, Darius Layton from Auburn,
Wandelle Robins from Kentucky. It's allSEC guys up there. I don't
know what's going on with the draft, but kind of funny to see that
dynamic. He is Paul Detino.He's on Twitter at Giants w FA and
Paul, thanks so much for thetime, and I really appreciate it at
(09:26):
any times that it was good tobe with him.
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