Ottis Anderson worries Giants' Saquon Barkley didn’t make correct contract decision
No one can tell Ottis Anderson anything about the wear and tear and the grind and the punishment of being an NFL running back that he does not already know.
He did it, exceedingly well, for 14 years, including one magical night in Tampa, Fla., when he huffed and puffed and carried the Giants to Super Bowl glory.
No one can recite anything about the plight of Saquon Barkley that is foreign to Anderson.
As much as Anderson realized then, and now, that running backs are “a dime a dozen’’ the player who is currently a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame cannot be convinced that Barkley made the correct choice in not accepting the Giants’ latest offer, an offer that is now past its expiration date.
Former Giants running back Ottis Anderson, pictured in 2008, isn’t convinced that Saquon Barkley made the correct contract decision. Getty Images
“That’s what’s scary about negotiating and listening to people in your corner, which is what you’re supposed to do,’’ Anderson told The Post. “But there comes a point in time where you got to man up and make your own decision. You had money on the table, more than you got now, now you got less, now you might not play at all, so now what happens?’’
Barkley must play on the franchise tag of $10.1 million after this past Monday’s deadline for a long-term extension came and went, or else sit out the season.
It would be unwise for Barkley to miss any games.
If Saquon Barkley plays in 2023, it’ll be on the franchise tag. Charles Wenzelberg
There is every anticipation he will not report with his teammates Tuesday to training camp.
The last Giants’ offer Barkley rejected approached $23 million in guaranteed money, meaning he will have to stay healthy, be highly productive in 2023 and find a new deal with the Giants or elsewhere for at least $13 million in 2024 to, at best, break even, absorbing all the risk, with only $10.1 million guaranteed as of now, or, more accurately, whenever Barkley signs the tender.
Anderson feels Barkley’s pain but believes making a difficult situation worse was not the way to go.
Anderson, 66, can be viewed as having two NFL careers.
He spent the first half of it as a dynamic star with the St. Louis Cardinals before he was traded to the Giants during the 1986 season — a trade Anderson at the time did not believe was in his best interest.
He scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl XXI victory over the Broncos but was not part of Bill Parcells’ running back rotation in 1987 or 1988.
The rejuvenation sprouted with a 1,023-yard season in 1989 and fully blossomed the following year when Anderson allowed the Bill Belichick-inspired defensive game plan to work against the high-flying Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
Dominating the time of possession on offense, the Giants gave the ball to Anderson 21 times, he churned for 102 yards and one touchdown in the Giants’ 20-19 upset victory, after which Anderson was crowned the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player.
Ottis Anderson rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown during the Giants’ Super Bowl victory over the Bills in 1990-91. Getty Images
Anderson was one of seven running backs named MVP in the first 32 Super Bowls.
Not a single running back has been the MVP of any of the past 25 Super Bowls.
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It’s a quarterback- and wide receiver-driven league; those are the position groups that get the big contracts.
Barkley, in Anderson’s view, should have realized this, taken the money and ran.
“I get where Barkley feels he’s at the point in his career where he wants that one big check, that one big contract, because everybody wants that, because you’re not sure you’re gonna get another one,’’ Anderson said. “Two years from now, he’ll be in his seventh year, and that’s when most teams let go of running backs. I wish him luck, but management is looking at it totally differently than how Barkley is looking at it.
“Management is saying you were great your rookie year, then you had two years or three years in between where you were injured and then you had a great year last year. So they’re looking at it out of five years you only had three good years.’’
If Barkley is not at training camp for an extended period of time, other running backs will receive greater opportunity to show their skills.
Saquon Barkley’s absence will allow other running backs to show what they can add to the Giants. Charles Wenzelberg
The Giants have a promising rookie in Eric Gray, taken in the fifth round out of Oklahoma, as a newcomer on the scene.
“You don’t want that to happen if you’re somebody like Barkley,’’ said Anderson, who among his business endeavors runs First Team Marketing, a trade show event planning company, with former teammate Lawrence Taylor. “You don’t want them to let somebody else in that front door because those kids are hungry too and they’re getting a lot less money than you’re getting.
“It will be interesting to see when he does decide to come in. You’re coming in [late], you’re coming in with less money, and that’s gonna piss you off and it’s gonna be hard to give your all when you know you’re underpaid.
“And he can’t come in there and after two games he gets hurt. That’s one thing he can’t do, and that’s always a possibility.’’
Source: New York Post
