Giants GM pressed on Saquon Barkley regrets, and his answer isn’t satisfying

Joe Schoen’s NFL Combine started with a question about his regrets over Saquon Barkley’s departure

Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine is dominated by coaches and general managers.

The prospects themselves will be the center of attention as the week goes on, first when meeting the media and later when they go through workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium. However, the week begins with coaches and GMs meeting the media and answering questions about the state of their rosters, the incoming class of rookies, and more.

For one general manager, however, his media session began with a question about a player who got away.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen stepped up on Tuesday morning to meet the media, and the very first question was about Saquon Barkley, who left the Giants in free agency last year and immediately went on to have a career year with the Philadelphia Eagles, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors and helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX.

Asked about whether he had regrets about allowing Barkley to walk in free agency, Schoen noted that he was “happy” for the Giants’ former running back:

“Yeah I’m happy for Saquon,” began Schoen. “Obviously [he] went on to win the Super Bowl, and we wish him nothing but the best. Always going to evaluate every decision you make and we were in a different place … again love Saquon and wish him nothing but the best.”

Schoen, who along with the Giants holds the third-overall pick in the draft, held his cards close to the vest when asked about taking a quarterback. The general manager indicated that even if the Giants draft a rookie in that spot, they will want a veteran to “show him the ropes.” With New York one of the teams linked with a potential Matthew Stafford trade, the GM deferred all questions about Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams:

He also indicated that the Giants “have a lot of work to do” when it comes to the third pick:

What a way to kick off the Combine.