Giants icon Tiki Barber addresses Saquon Barkley trade rumors

Retired running back, New York Giants icon and CBS Sports NFL analyst Tiki Barber is against his former club shopping star ball-carrier Saquon Barkley ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline. 

"If he’s healthy like he was playing earlier this week, earlier this season and last year, he is one of the most valuable running backs in the NFL," Barber said about Barkley during Thursday's edition of the WFAN "Evan and Tiki" program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "How are you replacing that?" 

The Giants held onto Barkley's rights for 2023 via the franchise tag and ultimately signed him to a one-year contract. They hoped he would help build upon a successful 2022 season that included winning a road playoff game. Big Blue instead lost five of its first six contests of the campaign, and Barkley missed three games this season with an ankle injury. However, he accumulated 93 rushing yards on 24 carries in this past Sunday's 14-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills. 

Barkley is a team captain who recently asked fans to show up and give the 1-5 Giants "the energy that we need" during their home game against the 3-3 Washington Commanders this coming Sunday. He made it known Thursday he wants to stay put through the deadline, and Barber mentioned that acquiring a draft pick for the 26-year-old may not be worth the cost for the Giants. 

"If you remove him from the locker room, the locker room loses something," Barber added about Barkley. "He’s part of this retool." 

Interestingly, Barber also suggested that Giants head coach Brian Daboll could lose his job if the club trades out-of-contract starters such as Barkley and "tanks" the rest of this season. Daboll earned 2022 Coach of the Year honors, but Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com noted last week that the 48-year-old "is heading for the hot seat next season" assuming the Giants don't turn things around beginning with Sunday's matchup versus Washington at MetLife Stadium.