The Giants didn’t pay record amounts for Slow Burns, Sick Burns or Freezer Burns.
Daniel Jones’ return from a torn ACL and Malik Neighbors replacing Saquon Barkley as the offensive focal point may be two of the talking points through the first few days of training camp, but pass rusher Brian Barnes will find out that effort, durability and production are always going to be evaluated under New York’s scrutiny.
The Giants believe he is the perfect fit to meet all three criteria.
General manager Joe Sean’s decision to acquire Barnes in a trade and sign him to the richest contract in franchise history for a defensive player (five years, $141.5 million) had a domino effect that will ripple through the remainder of the offseason, which ends Tuesday, when veterans gather in camp, particularly in the second round of the NFL Draft.
The pressure is on Coach Sean to make the trade outcome better than the other major decision of his three-year tenure – re-signing Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract extension in 2023.
And Barnes, the third-highest paid player in the NFL but the 10th-best edge rusher according to a recent ESPN poll of league insiders, would look to buck a recent history of disappointing debut seasons for the Giants’ big additions.
Under former general manager Dave Gettleman, Nate Solder was never able to recover from allowing seven sacks in 2018.
The same can be said for Golden Tate, who was suspended for four games for PED use earlier in 2019.
And for Kenny Golladay, who complained about the play calling during the second game of the game and then missed three weeks with a knee injury.
Coach Shawn’s acquisition of iron man Bobby Okereke was a solid one season, but trade acquisition Darren Waller will be remembered for missing five games with injury and scoring just one touchdown on a one-year, $12.1 million deal before retiring.
The Giants once signed Olivier Vernon as the NFL’s highest-paid edge rusher ($52 million guaranteed in 2016), but Vernon struggled to satisfy a restless fanbase despite recording 22 sacks in 39 games.
Vernon, like Barnes, was more of an all-around player who could play on any down than a fearsome sack monster.
“The first thing that comes out of fans’ mouths is, ‘He makes X amount of dollars and he doesn’t do this or that. A guy who makes that much money should be able to get through this or carry a team,'” one former Giants player told The Post.
The Giants believe the 26-year-old Barnes is different from past missteps, assistant general manager Brandon Brown explained on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
“[A pass-rusher] “It’s not often that a good-character, young (under 28) and proven player comes on the market,” Brown told Sean. “We’re all pleased that he’s still continuing to develop.”
This is why Sean agreed to trade the higher of his two second-round picks and include a swap of a fifth-round pick for another fifth-round pick.
Considering the Panthers gave up two first-round picks from the Rams to acquire Barnes, that sounds like a bargain, but every decision comes with a cost.
League sources believe that if the valuable asset traded for Barnes had been the 47th pick instead of the 39th, Sean would have drafted a cornerback.
According to league sources, the Giants had shown significant interest in Kool-Aid McKinstry (41st to the Saints) and Kamari Lassiter (42nd to the Texans), but both were already selected by the time Sean pivoted his draft board to the first safety (Tyler Nubin at 47th) and slot cornerback (Dru Phillips at 70th).
Nubin, who coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen spoke excitedly about on “Hard Knocks,” will likely find himself in a position battle with Dane Belton in the summer, while cornerback Cordele Flotte could be the uncontested starter.
Coach Sean’s plan is for Barnes to become best friends with Flott, Nubin, Phillips and top cornerback Deonte Banks in his second NFL season.
Barnes will team up with Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeau, while oft-injured former second-round draft pick Azeez Ojulari will likely have a reduced role.
If the vaunted pass rush slows to a start, any attempt by Daboll to downplay the importance of sacks will be reminded by the television footage that, when discussing a trade, he was asking Sean about Barnes’ sack history (46 in 80 career games), not the number of pocket pressures.
But if he can pick up the pace under his new contract, the Giants would have a shiny new piece in their arsenal.
