The Giants have been negotiating with running back Saquon Barkley since last year, but the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement. That led to New York giving Barkley the franchise tag after signing quarterback Daniel Jones long term.
While the two sides are still talking, those negotiations have appeared to change. General manager Joe Schoen said the team pulled their offer to Barkley, essentially resetting negotiations.
“There’s no outstanding offer right now,” Schoen said, via ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “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 Barkley plays on the franchise tag, he will make just over $10 million this season then hit free agency again next year. He is one of three running backs who got franchise tagged this year, joining Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard.
Schoen mentioned the team is comfortable if they can’t reach an agreement and Barkley plays the entire year on the tag. Meanwhile, owner John Mara said he would prefer Barkley remain in New York.
"I told Saquon we want him to be a Giant for his entire career," Mara said. "He provides leadership, he's a great player and we'd like to be able to get something done with him at some point.”
Mara added he would like Barkley to be put on the list with guys like Eli Manning, Michael Strahan and Tiki Barker, who were all Giants for life. However, he is leaving the negotiations to Schoen.
