Saquon Barkley, others knew conversations could appear on Hard Knocks

The New York Giants are taking part in an offseason version of Hard Knocks for the first time since the series began. The series began in 2001 and for the first 15 seasons, the series featured only one team at a time.

In 2020 with the rise of COVID-19, the series began following multiple teams per year.

The subject of controversy among some teams due to the sensitive nature of the business, NFL Films and HBO have allowed conversations to be made public that were not considered public at the time.

Last week’s episode showed a phone call between Giants general manager Joe Schoen and Saquon Barkley, which prompted a vile response from Philadelphia Eagles radio host Howard Eskin.

Whether the Giants allowed that conversation to be shown or not (they didn’t as it wasn’t their call) is actually a moot point because Barkley was aware, as were others Schoen talked to throughout the offseason.

Barkley, the Patriots’ Eliot Wolf, and the Panthers’ Dan Morgan were all aware that their conversations would be made public this season on Hard Knocks. It wasn’t a secret and it wasn’t a surprise.

This is the nature of Hard Knocks. At least the brand new offseason edition.