Saquon Barkley Jan 15, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter of a wild card game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants received some unfortunate news regarding Saquon Barkley’s current contract situation on Wednesday.

According to a report from Newsday’s Kim Jones, Barkley will not be signing the non-exclusive franchise tag that the Giants placed on him last month and therefore will not be eligible to participate when New York’s offseason program begins on Monday. As long as Barkley’s franchise tag remains unsigned — he has until July 17 to work out a long-term deal with the G-Men — he can’t participate in the team’s voluntary offseason program.

However, Art Stapleton who covers the Giants for The Record (N.J.) mentioned that Barkley was with Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and the team’s offensive group during a training session last week in Arizona.

“This should not come as a surprise,” Stapleton wrote on Twitter. “Saquon Barkley is trying to regain some leverage in negotiations for a long-term deal with the Giants, who hold most if not all the cards. [General manager] Joe Schoen has said NYG prepared to have Barkley play on the tag worth $10.1M for 2023.”

The NFL world reacted to the huge Saquon Barkley update on social media:

It remains to be seen how long Barkley is willing to hold out. Yes, the two sides have three months to work out a long-term extension, but the Giants do have a bit of leverage here with the 2023 NFL Draft just two weeks out and could possibly draft some insurance or Barkley’s future replacement.

[Kim Jones and Art Stapleton on Twitter]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.