The Giants now have less than a month to hammer out an extension with Saquon Barkley. With the Giants having pulled their offer and Barkley having expressed frustration at the leaks coming from the team’s side, this process has traversed a rocky path for a while.
Barkley remains hopeful for a long-term deal, noting the time still remaining between now and this year’s deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions (July 17), but word out of Giants headquarters is they would be content letting their two-time Pro Bowl back play this season on the $10.9MM tag. While it will be interesting to see which side blinks, Barkley looks to be making preparations in the event no deal comes together.
Franchise-tagged players are not subject to fines for missing training camp, and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler said during a recent SportsCenter appearance (h/t Bleacher Report’s Mike Chiari) Barkley is “a real threat” to skip camp. This tactic would be both aimed at avoiding the extra work come July and August, while penalizing the Giants — via services withheld — for not completing a deal by the deadline.
When the Steelers tagged Le’Veon Bell the first time (2017), he skipped training camp and reported September 1. Bell did start the season slowly, by his standards at the time, but finished with his second first-team All-Pro honor. No backs received the tag from 2019-22, leaving Barkley and Josh Jacobs as the only candidates to skip camp free of penalty since Bell. (Tony Pollard signed his Cowboys tender in March.)
What Bell did the following year generated far more attention. Barkley has referenced skipping the season, as Bell did in 2018 in protest of being tagged a second time, as a viable option. Bell has since expressed regret for doing this. Although Bell prevented a major injury affecting his 2019 market (when he scored $27MM fully guaranteed from the Jets), he missed out on $14.5MM by not signing his franchise tender. Bell is the only player to skip a season on the tag since the 1990s, when defensive linemen Sean Gilbert (1997) and Dan Williams (1998) did so. The salaries they passed on paled in comparison Bell’s, and the ex-Steeler great remains the poster boy for this rare course of action.
Barkley should not be considered likely to take this route, though he is in a better financial position than Bell was in 2018 or his 2023 tagged RB peers are. Barkley being chosen second overall locked in $31.2MM. The Giants exercised his fifth-year option ($7.2MM), putting the former Offensive Rookie of the Year near $40MM in career earnings. If a back were to try the Bell move, Barkley is positioned as well as anyone has been since the 2011 CBA reshaped rookie contracts. Taking this route would mean punting on $10.9MM and skipping an age-26 season. Seeing as Barkley’s prime is unlikely to last too much longer, this will be a valuable year.
The Giants are not introducing a new offense, with OC/play-caller Mike Kafka not being hired in this year’s cycle. The prospect of missing their starting back during camp and the preseason would not be especially damaging, with the looming threat of missed game checks hanging over Barkley in the event he tries to extend his absence into the regular season. That said, Barkley remains New York’s top skill-position player and occupies that role for a team without a top-flight quarterback. The Giants are thin behind Barkley, rostering Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell and fifth-round rookie Eric Gray. They could also bring in a veteran insurance option. A number of accomplished backs remain unsigned, but signing a starter-caliber veteran after failing to come to terms with Barkley by July 17 also runs the risk of Joe Schoen and Co. alienating the locker room.
Guarantees remain a key issue in this Giants-Barkley standoff, and while deadlines spur action, the low tag price and this year’s running back market not taking off did not do anything to convince the team to put its $13MM-AAV offer back on the table. This keeps Barkley in a tough spot at a pivotal career point. These negotiations continue to represent a prime storyline during an offseason in which the running back position has absorbed some significant blows.
With all the available RB’s I’m sure the Giants are sweating a guy who won’t sign a Franchise tender at an inflated price. They would actually save money and Barkley would lose big time in FA. Rocket Scientist he’s not.
Barkley may not be a rocket scientist but the Giants front office won’t appear much smarter than Homer Simpson if they let him walk. They are using the same hardball tactics that the Bears used with Forte and Robinson but don’t understand that winning can’t occur if your frequently dumping your best players to save a few bucks.
Maybe, but those “few bucks” prevent the team from signing other position players who round out the team and promote success…..don’t know how this will work out, but it seems too be that RB’s (who seem to have a pretty short shelf life at peak) who think they should “be paid” over extended periods of time and then either get hurt or don’t provide year to year value are mis-reading current NFL owners and their organizations….
They want paid because the rookie wage scale for RBs is a massive joke… A guy like Barkley puts up 1800 yards in 4 full seasons and *only* (subjective I know) averages a little over $7 million. Then whenever they are going to hit FA they get shoved with a franchise tag which entails ZERO security for him and his family should he get injured… Daniel Jones is going to be making $35.5M next year and people are upset with saving a few bucks on Barkley? Jones isn’t even top 15 at the QB position… Barkley is top 5
It’s the business he chose. He knew the rules of the NFL when he signed his rookie contract. No one forced him into the NFL. He can always find another line of work. His choice to make
That’s one of the dumbest things ever. So if you at your profession, the one YOU chose, isn’t going to give you a raise due to your performance what would you do? You look elsewhere for employment. And if you don’t, well, that’s your issue.
And honestly, if you think a 20 year old kid who’s been great at a sport, any sport, their whole entire lives looks at the rookie paycheck before they get to any league then you expect way too much out of a young adult, most of those from neighborhoods you probably would attempt to detour around in your city….
Let him skip. Giants would be dumb to pay him long term, use him up this year and move on with a guy who will be productive enough in a passing league at a fraction of the price. Expensive star RB’s don’t win teams Super Bowls while they are still good, anyway.
I don’t know.. He’s an extraordinary talent and played a huge roll in their success last season. Yes, it’s a passing league, but the Giants run game is essential to their success/failure.
Dumber than giving Jones all that $$$?
The Giants had little leverage with Jones and its agreed by everyone that his money is crazy given his success in this league….but the only other choice was signing a overpriced veteran or signing and playing a has been, or going with a rookie…blame other teams for upping the anti on QB’s contracts for the Jones disaster….unless he makes significant strides forward of course.
Idk, I’d argue they paid the wrong guy… I’d rather pay a guy like Taylor Heinicke $6M than a guy with 76 career turnovers in just 4 seasons… You don’t HAVE to just pay a guy big $$$ because he’s a QB. You pay the GOOD ones. Guys like Lamar, Pat Mahomes, Hurts deserve those contracts. Their track records are proven in a more productive manner. Not being a 21-31 QB with more turnovers than TDs… The Giants handcuffed themselves, and there’s no ways around it. They won more games on Saquon’s back than they did Jones’..
RB contracts were so bloated that the 2017 tag was 40% more than the 2023 one? Mind boggling, also there are far too many good RBs for these guys to be tryin this, Dalvin Cook is a free agent and 1 year older than Barkley, anyone believe Dalvin even gets 20 mil guaranteed? Read the room fellas sign your tags and hope to Christ your knees don’t blow up
He’s a veteran RB, who cares about training camp? He knows what to do with the ball when running and when to go out for a pass. besides, less of a chance of getting injured practicing.
Running backs have such a short NFL shelf life, should be considered a position not bound by rookie contract rules. Let those guys get paid asap.
Giants will be worse than Washington
He’s not reading the room. I like Saquon, and he’s good when he’s on the field. But it won’t kill the Giants to bring in another lower cost vet and go committee.
Saquon should sign if the Giants offer him 20-24 million guaranteed on a 3 year deal, gives him market $ and gives the Giants an out after 2 years with very little pain and even after 1 year with a hit. If they don’t offer that, then he should sign the tag.
Holding out for the season would basically kill his career.
Giants should sign Dalvin Cook for $12 million and release Barkley. Cook will make them a better overall team – just ask Kirk Cousins…
– just ask Kirk Cousins…
You mean the QB who has seen his passer rating drop each of the last 3 years Cook was in the backfield? Dalvin might be waiting a while for that endorsement.