The Giants used the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley, giving them until July 15 to sign the running back to a long-term deal. Otherwise, he will play 2023 under the one-year tag of $10.091 million.
The team has continued to negotiate with Barkley in hopes of reaching a deal.
“I told Saquon we want him to be a Giant for his entire career,” Giants owner John Mara said, via Dan Graziano of ESPN. “He provides leadership. He’s a great player, and we’d like to be able to get something done with him at some point. The running back market is what it is right now, but I’m still hopeful at some point we will come to an agreement.”
Running backs are looking for more money than teams are willing to give, and the reality is, Barkley likely wants more than the Giants are offering. Giants General Manager Joe Schoen said Monday the team is “fine” with Barkley playing on the tag this season.
“There’s no outstanding offer right now,” Schoen said. “Once we put the franchise tag on him, we stepped back. We knew throughout the negotiation that there was going to be a time where, if we couldn’t come to an agreement, we were going to go to the franchise tag, and that’s what we did.”
If the sides can’t come to an agreement on a long-term deal, Barkley will face another prove-it year. He stayed healthy last season, playing 16 games and gaining 1,650 yards from scrimmage with 10 total touchdowns.