At the beginning of the offseason, the New York Giants made a major move by signing quarterback Daniel Jones to a long-term contract, allowing the team to place a franchise tag on Saquon Barkley for the upcoming season. But it sounds like there’s at least a chance Barkley refuses to sign the franchise tag and sits out the entire season.
During a recent interview, Saquon Barkley certainly didn’t rule that out as a possibility, admitting “That’s a card I could play.”
“I think that’s a conversation, like you said, that’s a card I could play,” Barkley said according to the New York Daily News. “That comes up in conversation if something doesn’t get done by July 17. And we got a little bit of time in between there. So when that date comes up, then I’ll have to sit down with my team and my family and make decisions, see what we’re gonna do, what’s the game plan, what’s the next move.”
This comes as Barkley expressed frustration with the Giants front office due to leaks about the contract negotiations that he calls “misleading” and “untruthful,” claiming that the team has “tried to make me look like I’m greedy.”
It’s a pretty brutal situation for the New York Giants as they face the very real possibility of their star running back sitting out the season, and the NFL world had plenty to say about it.
He’s not happy #NYGiants https://t.co/oD65ctabWJ
— DoughboyFresshh (@VintageFresshh) June 12, 2023
Literally telling Mara to get involved
“Family Business” is code for John Mara Steve Tisch please save these negotiations. https://t.co/ObUakZPG2X— AndreSportsFan (@AndreSportsFan) June 12, 2023
I don’t know why people are so up in arms about what Saquon Barkley said. This is exactly what he’s suppose to say/do.
— Giants Daily (@NYGDaily) June 12, 2023
No chance of that happening.
Does Saquon Barkley actually think his value would increase in a year? https://t.co/ZaLFkC9lPQ
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) June 12, 2023
I support Saquon in holding out for his money. He’s deserving of a contract extension, it’s just a tough game with RBs and second contracts. The RB market is as devalued as its ever been.
With that said, there’s zero chance Barkley sits out for the season. https://t.co/HFvV8hEwcK
— Giants Daily (@NYGDaily) June 12, 2023
The only person Saquon should be mad at is his agent for possibly reading the market worse than any agent has read the market before. Cost his client 8 figures. https://t.co/2CLq5FIJ8W
— Ethan aka The People’s Insider (@EthanGSN) June 12, 2023
There’s still a long way to go before any decisions have to be made, but this is certainly an interesting development.
