The heavy lifting of the Giants’ offseason is essentially over. But then again, it’s not over. New York still needs to come to an agreement with running back Saquon Barkley.
Big Blue slapped the franchise tag on Barkley right before the deadline in February after coming to terms on a multi-year deal with quarterback Daniel Jones. Barkley isn’t a fan of the franchise tag and hasn’t signed the tender yet because he wants long-term stability.
The running back has said multiple times he doesn’t want to reset the RB market and wants to be a Giant for life. He sat out OTAs and minicamp, while also suggesting he could sit out during the season if an agreement hasn’t been made.
Things probably won’t get to that point. Both sides don’t appear to be concerned with getting something done. There’s still about a month until training camp starts. But, we’ve had to assume the holdup has been regarding the kind of guarantee the Giants have offered Barkley.
He hasn’t come out and specifically addressed that. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the running back’s camp hasn’t put forth requests that are deemed “unreasonable”, though. Here’s what Fowler said about the situation on Sportscenter (h/t Giantswire):
There’s no real movement on a contract yet, but neither side is panicking because they have about a month until that July 17 training camp deadline. Barkley is due to make $10.1 million. He wants more security on a long-term deal. I’m told his asks have been pretty reasonable. He just wants a good structure and a guarantee. He doesn’t want flimsy guarantees, and he wants something that will pay him out in the first couple of years as, you know, a well-accomplished back and Pro Bowl-type player. The Giants ownership really values Barkley. They see him as a potential Giant for life, so could step in to try to get something done closer to the deadline.
So, yea — it doesn’t seem like there’s any danger of the Giants and Barkley not coming to an agreement at some point. But, general manager Joe Schoen and Co. have had most of the leverage. That’s probably why this has taken so long. Barkley has been using the little leverage he’s had, but something has to give. And, it seems like that’ll happen soon enough.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
