Former MVP says Saquon Barkley should ask Giants for trade

The New York Giants fell to 2-6 on what quickly became a disappointing season via Sunday's ugly 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets. They reacted to that result by trading star defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks ahead of Tuesday's deadline for such transactions. 

Former Jets quarterback and one-time NFL Most Valuable Player Boomer Esiason believes running back Saquon Barkley should ask Giants general manager Joe Schoen for a change of scenery before Tuesday afternoon comes and goes. 

"Saquon Barkley should [go] right into Joe Schoen’s office and say, 'I want a $10M bonus if you’re gonna put this all on my a--," Esiason said during Monday's edition of the WFAN "Boomer and Gio" program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "Actually, if I were Saquon Barkley, I’d walk right into that office and say, 'Trade my a--. I want to go to a team that can use me to actually go win a Super Bowl.'" 

Barkley left no doubt before Sunday's defeat that he wants to remain with the Giants through and beyond this season. "I want to create a legacy, and the way you do that is by continuing to stay with a team through your whole career," Barkley recently told ESPN's Jordan Raanan. 

The 26-year-old is in the final months of a one-year contract he signed this past summer after he failed to receive a long-term deal from the organization after his rights were retained via the non-exclusive franchise tag. Schoen could tag Barkley again this coming March, and it's widely believed the executive won't sign the second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft to a multi-year contract at a time when teams around the league have devalued veteran players at the position. 

Raanan reported last week that Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll told Barkley the ball-carrier won't be traded before Tuesday's deadline. Monday's development showed the Giants became sellers after the Week 8 defeat, though, and logic suggests Schoen will at least take calls about Barkley's availability from Super Bowl contenders. 

Esiason thinks Barkley should do himself and the Giants a favor by initiating trade discussions as soon as possible assuming such talks hadn't already begun as of Monday afternoon.