Giants Don’t Plan On Signing Saquon Barkley To A Long Term Deal – And It’s The Right Call

The New York Giants aren’t interested in giving big long-term money to Saquon Barkley and it makes sense for multiple reasons.

Since last month, the team has had a non-exclusive franchise tag placed on the former Penn State running back.

It turns out not only are the Giants interested in anything long-term anymore – but Barkley does not plan on signing it either, reports Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports.

There was an effort made by the Giants but both sides were not close to coming up with a compromise.

While the Giants are comfortable with Barkley signing his $10.1 million franchise tag, he does not appear to be interested in doing so.

If that’s the case, the 26-year-old won’t be eligible to participate in the Giant’s offseason program, which begins Monday, according to Kim Jones of Newsday.

But Vacchiano said that there is “no real crisis until training camp begins and from what I hear no camp holdout is expected.”

Of course, this isn’t ideal for both sides – but you can understand why the Giants want to be cautious about giving Barkley a long-term contract.

While Barkley had his most productive season since he was drafted by the organization in 2018 with 1,312, rushing yards, he has had issues staying on the field.

From 2019 to 2021, Barkley just appeared in 28 games.

This includes a torn ACL and a sprained ankle.

Along with the injuries, running backs aren’t considered one of the most impactful positions on the football field.

Oftentimes, teams won’t use a first-round pick on a running back – but of course, Barkley was an exception at second overall in 2018.

But still, the Giants will want to come up with a deal because he’s an ideal fit in the backfield for the team in 2023.

Likewise, if Barkley is re-signed, it will be a shorter-term contract agreement – but it does not appear that it will be a one-year deal around his franchise price tag.