Giants RB Saquon Barkley Mum on Future in New York at Pro Bowl
While Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was vocal about his impending free agency, Giants running back Saquon Barkley played it a little closer to the vest.
When Barkley was asked during today’s Pro Bowl Games practice about free agency, he declined to go into any detail about the matter.
“Yeah, I’m not really getting too much into those talks. I’ve been vocal about how I feel about New York. Everyone knows how I feel about New York. I have a great agent, and she’s going to take care of that.”
Barkley did, however, share praise for Brian Daboll and his coaching staff:
“Just energy, a spark. He brought back life, not just to the players, but to the who facility. The whole area, everyone in there from the equipment room to the lunch staff. Top to bottom. Trainers, and everyone [else]; you can feel it. Not only [Daboll] but everyone who came aboard, they did a really good job and that’s a big reason why we’re going to be successful this year.”
Daboll took the Giants to the playoffs as a Wild Card team in his first season as the Giants’ head coach. The Giants finished 9-7-1 this season, their first winning season since 2016 under Daboll.
Barkley finished the season with 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 295 attempts (4.4 YPC). Barkley also caught 57 passes for 338 yards (5.9 YPC). The 25-year-old running back made it clear last month that he wants to stay in New York long-term.
“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. I’ve been vocal about how I feel and where I want to be. I wanted to show the Giants that they guy they drafted is still here. Everyone knows I would love to be a Giant for life.”
Unfortunately for Barkley, GM Joe Schoen didn’t sound as confident in last month’s end-of-season press conference:
“We would like to have Saquon back if it works out,” Schoen said.
Unlike Barkley, Jacobs made it clear that while he expects discussions between him and the Raiders to resume next week, no offer has been made, and he will not be low-balled. Jacobs also made it clear that he was not a fan of playing under the franchise tag on Saturday.
You can read more about Josh Jacobs’ comments today, here:
