Kayvon Thibodeaux is “mad” that the Giants cut a big check to Daniel Jones before Saquon Barkley.
The Giants opted to sign their quarterback to a four-year, $160 million contract extension last offseason and stick their running back with the dreaded franchise tag (one year, $10.1 million).
After Barkley’s multiyear extension talks broke down, he played the 2023 season on the tag without creating a stink and now his future with the Giants is uncertain as he waits to find out if he will get a multiyear extension, another franchise tag or be allowed to test free agency.
“I believe in Daniel Jones,” Thibodeaux said Thursday on “7PM in Brooklyn” with former NBA star Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero. “What I’m mad about is that Saquon — because if you look at the game, the tape, Saquon was responsible for at least 30 percent of our explosive plays, talking about the year [2022] we won the playoff game.
“So, for me and for the integrity of working together and hard work, and we all believe the same things, I feel like Saquon should have got paid first. That’s what I feel.”
Barkley has no shortage of supporters in the locker room, where his leadership, production as the team’s best offensive playmaker six years running and impact in the community as a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee carries respect.
Thibodeaux emerged as the Giants’ best pass-rusher in his second NFL season but still is one season away from being able to negotiate a new contract.
The Giants have used Barkley’s injury history — three missed games in 2023 — and the league-wide devaluation of running backs as leverage in negotiations.
“I don’t know the back end — maybe it’s a franchise [tag], maybe it’s an extension, maybe it’s blah, blah, blah,” said Thibodeaux, who expressed confidence in the front office’s roster-building ability through the draft. “That’s none of my business. I have to focus on me. … Because we see it. As a team, we know who’s putting in work and not.”
In addition to totaling 1,242 yards from scrimmage and 10 of the Giants’ 25 offensive touchdowns, Barkley’s backing of undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito when things were going haywire this season sparked a belief from teammates and fans that led to the “Tommy Cutlets” phenomenon.
DeVito returned the support recently in a big way.
“I want them to call the Brink’s truck and come drop off the cash at the front door,” DeVito told Complex.com during a joint interview with Barkley. “Now [my] hope is for the Giants [because] I want him to be in the backfeld with me and all my team because I think he is the best teammate in the NFL, the best teammate I’ve had around … in my life. Hands down, for sure.”
Barkley has said many times that he wants to be with the Giants for his whole career and is seeking a “fair” multiyear extension, but he has begun accepting that it might not be in the cards.
The deadline for a tag is March 5 — about a week before free agency opens.
offseason. Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
DeVito — who could be anywhere from No. 1 to No. 3 on the quarterback depth chart when the season opens — doesn’t want to picture the Giants without Barkley.
“I hope it’s with the Giants. But if not, somebody call the bank because the bank is coming because this man needs to get paid,” DeVito said, before speaking directly to Barkley. “You’re my man, you’re my man, for real. Now you can come run it back and we can get right. But at the same time, I want you to get your paper, you know what I mean?”
Barkley called it a “great answer.”
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