Getty Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley has made his stance clear on his future with the New York Giants. The Pro Bowl running back sent a message to the Giants after the busiest game of his career.
Barkley powered the Giants to a 24-16 win over the struggling but plucky Houston Texans in Week 10. Now, the 25-year-old will be hoping general manager Joe Schoen takes heed of his pledge to be a “Giant for life.”
It will be up to Schoen to restart and accelerate talks over a new contract that previously yielded nothing between player and team during the Giants’ bye week.
Barkley Not Ready to Find a New Team
The dust had barely settled on beating the Texans before Barkley made his pitch to spend his career with the Giants, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic. His words should be music to the ears of Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll because their rebuilding project depends on keeping a bluechip talent like Barkley in the fold.
Aside from left tackle Andrew Thomas, Barkley is the only elite member of a solid, but plodding offense. His importance was underscored by a career-high workload against the Texans that saw No. 26 carry the ball 35 times for 152 yards and a touchdown.
Saquon Barkley said his NFL career-high 35 carries today are the most he’s received in any game in his life
His 36 touches also are the 2nd most in his entire football career at any level
The most was in college: 40 touches at Iowa in 2017 (28 carries, 12 catches)
The Giants know they need Barkley beyond this season, but they still couldn’t agree new terms during the bye week. Any further talks have been tabled until the 2022 NFL season is in the books, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
To his credit, Barkley endorsed the party line by supporting the decision to press pause on the negotiations: “I’m just happy we were able to at least have a conversation. I know how they feel about me,” he said. “They spoke very highly of me, but like I said, we weren’t able to get anything done during the bye week, and I agree with Joe, just lock it up and (don’t) worry for the rest of the season and make sure no distractions come out of it.”
Barkley’s next deal isn’t a distraction yet but that could soon change. One of the key details in Schefter’s report revealed how “Barkley surely will have his sights set on becoming one of the NFL’s highest-paid running backs, if not the highest.” Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers is the benchmark at the position, earning $16 million per year.
It’s a hefty outlay for the Giants to consider, especially after Schoen has kept an iron grip on the team’s finances this year to try and ease the salary cap hell he inherited. Barkley isn’t the only key player whose future needs to be secured, but he may be the most important contract decision Schoen has to make next offseason.
Franchise Tag a Likely Compromise
Duggan wrote that Schoen may be unwilling to hand Barkley a contract matching what McCaffrey earns. Instead, a franchise tag would allow the Giants “to retain Barkley for $12.6 million in 2023.”
It looks like a viable compromise for a GM who also needs to decide what to do with quarterback Daniel Jones. Schoen opted against picking up Jones’ fifth-year option before the start of this season, but the sixth player drafted in 2019 has since stayed healthy and led his team to a surprising 7-2 start.
There’s also free safety Julian Love, who is thriving in coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale’s creatively aggressive defense. Love has started all nine games, snatched an interception, logged a sack and forced and recovered a fumble this season.
The Giants know all about the fourth-year safety’s value and entered into “conversations” with the player’s reps during the bye, per Pat Leonard of The New York Daily News.
Just like with Barkley, those conversations failed to bear any fruit. Also like Barkley, Love wants to stay put:
“I love playing here. If something could get done, I’d love to get it done.”
Julian Love on a potential contract extension with the Giants:
Keeping a core player like Love is vital if the Giants are going to be built to compete beyond this season. Yet, as important as certain players are, Schoen and Daboll would struggle to replace Barkley’s impact, making his future the obvious priority.