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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
John Fennelly

Michael Lombardi: ‘Disease of me’ beginning to infect Giants

Since Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll took over as the general manager and head coach of the New York Giants in 2022, they have changed the culture of the franchise for the better.

Many around the league are pleased that one of their flagship franchises has finally got back on course and is winning again.

Not everyone is buying in, however. There are talking heads still critical and seeking to rain on the Giants’ parade.

Michael Lombardi is a former NFL executive and media analyst that is simply reading headlines and not providing a lot of context.

The Saquon Barkley situation is well known and has been well-covered by the Giants’ beat pool here in New York. He does not want to play under the franchise tag and is skipping the team’s voluntary workout program, which begins this coming Monday.

What you need to know about that is Barkley can’t participate because he did not sign his franchise tender and is not under contract.

Dexter Lawrence is not attending until the Giants sign him to a contract extension. Keep in mind, this means very little as the workouts are voluntary. When the mandatory workouts come and he fails to show, then people can start to worry.

But Lawrence isn’t exactly sitting around waiting for the phone to ring…

As for the ‘disease of me’ angle Lombardi is talking about — he’s right. It does happen to teams who experience a sudden turnaround like the Giants have.

But this team appears to be different. They are rallying around Daniel Jones, not shunning him for the lottery-level contract he signed this spring.

About 20 players, including Barkley, joined Jones for voluntary workout sessions this spring in Arizona. Teams that have the ‘disease of me’ don’t do that in my experience.

Follow all of your favorite teams at Giants Wire, Nets Wire, Rutgers Wire and Jets Wire!

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