The New York Giants rebuilt their backfield this offseason, letting star running back Saquon Barkley go in free agency and adding veteran Devin Singletary and rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the offseason. General manager Joe Schoen seemingly had no interest in paying a premium at the running back position.
However, a recent report from The Athletic’s Dan Pompei indicates that the G-Men had their eyes on another superstar running back in free agency (h/t Big Blue View).
RB Josh Jacobs says the Giants made him a lucrative offer in free agency
Jacobs spoke with Pompei recently as The Athletic’s reporter put together an article detailing why Jacobs went from the Las Vegas Raiders to the Green Bay Packers in free agency this offseason. He told Pompei that Big Blue made him a big-time offer that he ultimately refused:
“The Giants came on strong with an offer between $3 million and $4 million more than he eventually accepted,” Pompei reports. “But Jacobs was turned off by the New York taxes, lifestyle, media and the artificial turf at MetLife Stadium.”
The Giants were unwilling to pay a fan-favorite franchise cornerstone in Barkley, who went on to sign a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Considering Jacobs landed a contract worth $48 million across four years, it feels unlikely that New York actually offered him a contract exceeding that value or the one of Barkley’s deal.
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Art Stapleton of North Jersey and Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post have indicated that the Giants’ reported offer to Jacobs is inconsistent with what they heard throughout the offseason.
“To my understanding — and we all know I pay a lot of attention to RB contracts — Giants never made Josh Jacobs an actual offer,” Dunleavy wrote on X.
The Giants are rolling into the 2024-25 season without a superstar in their backfield, but with a dynamic committee of rushers to attack opposing defenses on he ground. Jacobs, meanwhile, will look to live up to the lofty expectations of his big contract in Green Bay.
