The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley have not agreed on a contract extension, and unlike last March, the Giants will not be placing the franchise tag on Barkley. Instead, Barkley will become a free agent and join a promising class of free-agent running backs.
Barkley, 27, was franchise-tagged last year and signed a one-year contract in July. In 14 games, he rushed for 962 yards with six touchdowns and caught 42 passes for 280 yards with four touchdowns. The 2018 second-overall pick won Offensive Rookie of the Year with 2,028 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns.
Barkley tore his ACL in his second season after reaching 1,003 yards. Barkley had a career-high 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, as well as 57 catches for 338 yards, in 2022, earning his second Pro Bowl selection and helping the Giants reach the playoffs.
The Giants and Saquon Barkley are in a similar situation as last year, with his free-agent status one of the team’s most significant issues.
Last year, they couldn’t reach an agreement after nine months of negotiations, and Barkley played on a one-year, $10.1 million contract.
Giants GM Joe Schoen recently called the running back market “saturated,” so it seems like a poor use of resources to tag Barkley again.
Now Barkley will join Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, Tony Pollard, and D’Andre Swift, amongst others, in one of the best classes of free-agent running backs in recent memory.
All of that talent at the running back position hitting the open market at the same time seems like an interesting storyline to monitor this offseason. We’ve seen with Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Jonathan Taylor in recent years that the running back market has cratered, and teams aren’t valuing them as they once did.
All three running backs bargained for long-term deals last offseason, and none were successful. Now that Barkley and Jacobs are free agents and still in the prime of their careers, they’ll have the opportunity this offseason to see how the rest of the league values them.