The running back market has flatlined. On Tuesday, Saquon Barkley agreed to a fresh one-year $11m contract with the New York Giants, ending any talk of a training camp holdout.
Barkley is back in New York. But his signing represents a thaw around the issue of running back pay rather than a final resolution. Barkley’s new deal did not include a clause that would prevent the Giants from using the franchise tag – which teams can use to keep hold of players due to become free agents – on him for next season, a provision a number of quarterbacks have included in their deals. Unless there’s a wink-wink deal over a long-term contract, it’s likely he will find himself in the same situation again next summer. Likewise for Jonathan Taylor, who is due a contract extension next offseason. Ditto for Nick Chubb, whose long-term contract options are also uncertain and will be 30 by the time he’s due for a new deal.
