The New York Giants opted against placing the dreaded franchise tag on star running back Saquon Barkley ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. A second consecutive tag would have cost the Giants $12.1 million. Given that New York’s previous best offer was $23 million guaranteed over three seasons, that figure did not make much sense.
This now has the 27-year-old Barkley on the verge of hitting NFL free agency for the first time in his six-year career. While New York still has six days of sole negotiating power with Barkley, it does not seem like anything will come to fruition on this end.
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No contract talks between Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
“No contract offers were made and no numbers were exchanged by either the Giants or by Barkley’s new agent Ed Berry during the eight-week negotiation window since the season ended, including during a no-hard-feelings face-to-face meeting at the NFL Scouting Combine,” Ryan Dunleavy of the NY Post reported on Tuesday.
Without any real contract negotiations having taken place over the past six weeks, there is no legitimate expectation that the two sides will actually get something hashed out.
The likelier scenario is that New York lets Barkley test the free agent waters to see what other teams have to offer. If he’s met with a bare market — like we’ve seen with other free agent running backs in recent years — there is always a chance for a reunion with New York. It just seems improbable right now.
- Saquon Barkley stats (2023): 962 rushing yards, 280 receiving yards, 1,242 total yards, 10 TD
The No. 2 overall pick of New York in the 2018 NFL Draft, Barkley has put up three 1,000 rushing yards seasons. He’s tallied over 1,000 total yards four times.
It will be interesting to see what type of market he’s met with when the legal tampering period for NFL free agency opens on Monday.