The New York Giants managed to handle their two biggest personnel issues earlier this week, signing quarterback Daniel Jones to a long-term contract and placing the franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley.
Although general manager Joe Schoen intends to continue negotiations with Barkley on a long-term deal, locking those two up allows him the freedom to begin working on other in-house free agents.
At the top of the remaining list is safety Julian Love, who the team is actively engaged with.
“Things have ramped up,” Love said during a Friday appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “They’ve constantly expressed interest. Since the end of the season, they’ve reiterated the interest to bring me back. I reiterated that I want to be back, hopefully, [if] we can meet on the price.”
But Love won’t come cheap. Like Jones before him, he’s not going to offer any sort of hometown discount and intends to do what’s best for himself and his family.
“There’s a sense of wanting to finish the job with the team that drafted you, but at the same time, you just can’t settle. [A] football career is so short that you have to get what you feel is fair while you’re in it,” Love added.
“I’m human. Money is a huge part of the equation, but it’s not the end-all, be-all. It’s a huge point, but the feel has to be right. If you don’t believe in the organization and their ability to grow going forward, that says it all. There’s that balance.”
Love has been projected to earn anywhere from $7.5 million to $8.4 million annually on a new deal, but an increasingly bloated safety market may drive that price down a bit.
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