The New York Giants are in negotiations with both quarterback Daniel Jones and star running back Saquon Barkley with both players currently set to hit free agency.
The Giants returned to the playoffs in 2022 on the back of the finest season of Jones’ career as the quarterback led New York to a 9-6-1 record as well as playoff victory in Minnesota over the Vikings. In the process, Jones set a franchise record by completing 67.2% of his passes while his passer rating of 92.5 was a career-high.
Jones threw just five interceptions in 472 attempts, while he threw for 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns. The 25-year-old also finished second on the team with 708 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, which set single-season records for a Giants quarterback.
As for Barkley, the stud running back was selected to his second Pro Bowl and did not miss a game due to injury for the first time since his 2018 Rookie of the Year season. He was fourth in the NFL with 1,312 rushing yards and tied with Richie James for the team lead with 57 receptions, while Barkley's 1,650 yards from scrimmage were the league's seventh-highest figure.
Barkley is also a team captain and was the Giants' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award while he is one of their most popular players with fans and within the locker room. As a result, Giants general manager Joe Schoen is hopeful both Jones and Barkley will return to New York for 2023.
“I would love to have them both back,” Schoen said during his news conference at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “They work well with each other. Their entire careers in the NFL, they've been together.
“I do think they complement each other well. We're trying to have productive conversations with both their representatives. The goal is to hopefully get something done. We've had productive conversations with both their representatives – Saquon going all the back to November. And we'll continue to do so. There's not priority on one or the other.”
Schoen is ‘cautiously optimistic’ the Giants will retain the services of both players, and he understands the importance of signing one of them before the franchise tag deadline next Tuesday. If one is signed before then, the other can get tagged.
“It's got to be right for both parties,” Schoen said. “Again, I say it all the time with you guys – if, then scenarios. We're going through those. So, if it gets out of hand and it's out of our comfort zone, we have the tag. We can only tag one player. We'll use that. If somebody's got to walk, then it's unfortunate. But that's a part of the business. We're still building a team. That's important to keep in mind.”
Jones' salary under the tag would be $32.4million, which the GM admitted would restrict his options to upgrade other positions. However, Schoen confirmed Jones will be tagged if no long-term deal is struck - and insisted the team will keep the 25-year-old as the starter in 2023.
He added: “If you have to franchise Daniel, I don't think that's best for the organisation. I don't believe it's best for Daniel, especially as we try to build a team around him and questions about receiver and other positions on the other side of the ball where we may need depth. So, it does hurt you a little bit in terms of the team-building process. But we're prepared if that's a scenario that we're faced with, and we have a plan B. And we'll try to execute that the best we can. We wouldn't be in this situation, negotiating with Daniel, if we didn't want him to be our quarterback.”
