The New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley negotiated a contract extension during the bye week but were reportedly “not close” on coming to an agreement.
The failure to get a deal done didn’t hinder Barkley one tiny bit. He carried the ball a career-high 35 times on Sunday and finished the game with 160 yards and one touchdown.
Barkley is again the NFL’s leading rusher.
“We got into a little bit of conversation,” Barkley told reporters. “At the end of the day, I put that in the past. That was the bye week. Obviously, we weren’t able to come to an agreement during the bye week and my mindset is just focus on the rest of the season. Next week going against Detroit and knowing when that opportunity comes up again, focus on it then.”
Like general manager Joe Schoen, Barkley is fine with tabling contract talks until after the season. Neither want any distractions and there are no hard feelings that a deal couldn’t be reached.
“I’m just happy that we were able to at least have a conversation,” he said. “I know how they feel about me. They spoke very highly of me, but like I said we weren’t able to get anything done during the Bye Week and I agree with Joe, just lock it up and worry for the rest of the season and make sure no distractions come out of it.”
Ultimately, Barkley said, he wants to be with the Giants for life.
“I think I’ve kind of been vocal before contracts were even brought up, about how I feel about this place. What I want my legacy to be in this place and I want to be Giant for life,” he said. “Like I said, I’ve been vocal about that so if the conversation gets brought up again, we’ll go from there.”
