Saquon Barkley, Zack Martin Contract Talks, the New York Jets on Hard Knocks, and More - Ride the Line Ep. #33

A new episode of Ride the Line with Grant Mitchell and Tanner Kern is out now on all WSN platforms!

Saquon Barkley Contract Drama

After a riveting motivational speech and good luck bid to the USA Women’s Soccer Team ahead of their debut in the 2023 World Cup, the boys jump into a discussion on whether Saquon Barkley deserves to be paid big money by the New York Giants.

Grant takes the position that while top-flight running backs are not necessary for Super Bowl contenders, they can be pivotal for lesser teams like the Giants. He harkened back to Daniel Jones’ struggles without Barkley in the lineup and even went so far as to say that the Giants should have franchised tagged Jones instead of Barkley.

Tanner countered that the quarterback is the hardest position to replace in football and Barkley has not put himself in the ultimate “prove it” position.

Both co-hosts believe there is still a place for running backs in the league as top earners but also went over large contracts that didn’t pan out (a la Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott) and how rookies can make just as great of an impact as veterans.

Zack Martin Prepared to Sit Out?

There’s even more trouble in paradise, if paradise is the NFC East (has anyone said that before?) as Zack Martin is reportedly unhappy with the Dallas Cowboys failing to restructure his contract.

Grant and Tanner are both huge teams of Martin, a future Hall of Famer and six-time first-team All-Pro and think Dallas needs to acquiesce to his demands. The NFC is so barren that aside from the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers, there aren’t many teams aside from Dallas that seem like they have realistic chances of challenging to make the Super Bowl.

Martin has also proven that he deserves to be paid amongst the elite of the elite and would be highly sought after should he end up on the open market or be traded. The Ride the Line message to Jerry Jones is not to let another contract situation foil the Cowboys’ chances of doing something they haven’t since 1996: winning the Super Bowl.

Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Hard Knocks

Friday’s show concludes with a discussion of the New York Jets, the new centerpiece of the annual mini-series Hard Knocks. 

Both co-hosts are worried that the Jets’ lack of interest in being on the show combined with having their hands forced into taking the gig are going to affect their chemistry and development. They also pointed out the need for a strong camp and preseason given how tough of an early-season schedule the Jets face.

After a review of their regular-season schedule, Grant and Tanner revealed they don’t see an easy game on the Jets’ schedule until two months into the season and think they may be capped at nine wins. For those reasons, they believe the Jets have a great chance of missing the playoffs.

Tune back in on Monday for another episode of Ride the Line where the boys will give their best betting picks for the MLB calendar, plus a whole lot more!