New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley has never been shy about his desire to bookend his career with Big Blue. He wants to leave a legacy in East Rutherford and, ideally, he’ll never wear another uniform.
But with a disappointing 2023 regular season coming to a close, Barkley recognizes that what happens next is beyond his control.
“Obviously, that’s a possibility,” Barkley said of Sunday being his last game with the Giants. “A lot of that’s out of my control.”
The Giants could opt to designate Barkley as their franchise player for the second consecutive year, but he would prefer things not go down that way.
“If they franchise tagged me again, I don’t know. I don’t think any player wants to get franchise tagged,” he said. “Sometimes the franchise tag is a placeholder to be able to work on a deal later. In my case, it wasn’t last year. So, I mean, if I got tagged again, I think I could give you a better answer or talk about my emotions at that time if it does happen.”
At a robust salary, general manager Joe Schoen may pass on franchising Barkley and instead, let the veteran back test free agency while a long-term deal is negotiated. However, if that happens, the possibility of Barkley leaving East Rutherford becomes more likely.
Even Barkley admits that he’s pondered a fresh start — elsewhere or back with the Giants.
“I’ve mentioned before that I wanted to be a Giant for life. That was a goal of mine when I got drafted. I wanted to leave a legacy here. But it’s out of my control. I truly have no say. It’s really up to those guys upstairs, to Joe and all those guys. They’ve got to do what’s best for the team,” Barkley said.
“Does a fresh start cross my mind? I guess anybody when you look at the season, the way it went, I feel like everybody would want a fresh start. Not just saying somewhere else, but just a clean slate. That’s how I look at it to be honest. So, if I did hit the open market, that was God’s plan for me to get another opportunity and to continue to try to create a legacy for myself with my football career.”
Barkley has never openly discussed hitting the open market or playing for another team before, so perhaps the writing is on the wall. Maybe Sunday’s game really will be Barkley’s last as a member of the New York Giants.
Then again, maybe not.
