Giants legend questions importance of Saquon Barkley

New York Giants legend and retired running back Tiki Barber suggested the club's offense wouldn't completely fall apart without Saquon Barkley. 

"I know Giant fans want Saquon Barkley on this team and feel like they need Saquon on this team," Barber said during Tuesday's edition of the WFAN "Tiki and Tierney" program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "But the fact is, if he’s not on this team, I honestly don’t know if they’d be worse off. I think they would be because of the locker room, but I can’t say for a fact, 'This team won’t win 10 games without Saquon Barkley.' I can’t say that." 

Barkley, a team captain, remains away from the Giants until further notice due to his refusal to sign the franchise tender worth $10.091M for the 2023 season. While Barkley hinted earlier this month that he could sit regular-season games out if he and the Giants don't come to terms on a long-term extension before the July 17 deadline for teams to sign franchise-tagged players, multiple insiders believe he's bluffing and won't forfeit guaranteed money simply to make a point. 

Barber, who owned multiple franchise records when he retired after the 2006 season, understands the Giants' mindset considering how running backs are valued in the modern NFL. 

"The running back is gonna get hurt, so why pay him?" Barber asked. 

Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports offered an answer to that question last week when he mentioned the 2022 Giants went 8-2 when Barkley rushed for at least 70 yards and were 7-2 when he tallied a minimum of 100 yards from scrimmage. To compare, Big Blue went 0-3 when Barkley rushed for fewer than 50 yards. 

However, ESPN's Jordan Raanan noted Tuesday how the Giants added tight end Darren Waller and wide receivers such as Parris Campbell, Jeff Smith and third-round draft pick Jalin Hyatt this offseason in an apparent attempt to build around quarterback Daniel Jones after the club signed Jones to a four-year contract in March. 

Barber thinks Jones is "definitely" a top-10 NFL quarterback and also the "second-best quarterback in the NFC," and that could be why the current media personality insinuated his former club could essentially replace Barkley without missing a beat as soon as next March.