The New York Giants and former Penn State running back [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] have until July 17 to come together on an agreement on a contract. If that deadline passes, it appears Barkley has at least given a thought to sitting out the 2023 NFL season until a deal can be reached.
“That comes up in the conversation if something doesn’t get done by July 17,” Barkley said on Sunday at his football camp when talking to reporters, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. While Barklety does not seem overly optimistic a deal will be reached between the two sides, he does realize that there is still plenty of time to work something out so he can suit up and play football this season for the team that drafted him.
“I think they’re open to talking. I’m open to talking,” Barkley said. “I think at the end of the day, if you really break it down and look at it as a whole, there is no rush. There is still time on the table to get to July 17. July 17 is not tomorrow. It’s not in a week. That is how I look at it.”
The Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley this offseason, but Barkley has yet to sign that contract. The franchise tag would pay Barkley the average of the top three contracts in the league at the running back position, which is reported to be $10.091 million for the 2023 season. The Giants also worked out a long-term deal with quarterback Daniel Jones with a $160 million contract for the next four years.
Barkley says he did not want to be given a franchise tag but he was more displeased with a narrative he thought was being written at the time.
“Me getting tagged, was I upset about it? Nobody wants to get tagged,” Barkley said. “To sit here and say I was frustrated, I was mad, I was upset, what really got me upset was the stories that got leaked out and how misleading they were and how untruthful they were.”
Barkley was a key player for the Giants as they returned to the postseason last year. In his fifth season in the NFL, Barkley had career highs for rushing attempts (295) and rushing yards (1,312). He rushed for two touchdowns in his playoff debut to help the Giants power past the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wild Card round. He also scored 10 touchdowns for the Giants. In his five seasons with the Giants, he has lost just one of four fumbles.
If the Giants and Barkley cannot reach an agreement on a long-term deal, Barkley sitting out for as long as it takes could lead to the Giants making a move to send Barkley elsewhere. There would be a number of teams interested in the talented running back, for sure, but it may still be most likely that the next time Barkley does step on an NFL field, it will be in a Giants uniform.
Time will tell for sure, but the clock is officially ticking toward the key July 17 deadline.
Helmet sticker to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
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