With Barkley out, Gettleman needs to find the next man up

Here we are, two weeks into the NFL season and the Giants are already 0-2 and have already lost their best player, Saquon Barkley, for the season. ESPN reports an MRI has confirmed that the Giants bell cow running back is in fact lost for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee suffered in the team's 17-13 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Barkley is not only the best player on the team but the one the offense was supposed to go through. If he's done then what?

Well, if general manager Dave Gettleman is smart and wants to keep his job, he trades for another player the offense can go through. Perhaps Allen Robinson who apparently wants out of Chicago, though the Bears are trying to get a deal done. If not him, then find a player whose contract is coming up that can possibly be had. That's what good general managers do. They find the guys that the fans would never have even thought of and get them in.

Remember how the Eagles turned up Jay Ajayi in 2017 and he helped lead them to the Super Bowl?

Signing what's left on the street just isn't going to get it done, although the Giants are meeting with former Falcon Devonta Freeman.

Speaking of 2017, the Giants had this happen to them that year. In the fourth game of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers, they lost wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris for the season, and Sterling Shepherd was week to week. They never really replaced them and ended up going 3-13 with Ben McAdoo losing his job in week 14.

Of course, the way the benching of Eli Manning was handled had something to do with McAdoo losing his job, but if they weren't 2-10 at that point, and they probably wouldn't have been had they replaced the lost receivers in week four, McAdoo would have never benched Eli and kept his job.

Will Barkley's injury affect whether Dave Gettleman, who's already on the hot seat this year, keep his job? He has the chance right now to show what kind of general manager he is. Can he unearth that player either through trade or pickup who's out there who can turn this team around after only two games or do we throw in the towel?

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

More from New Jersey 101.5: