With the NFL trade deadline (Oct. 31) rapidly approaching, many teams will seek to deal the overpriced/underperforming players on their roster,
It’s hard to think but one of those players identified by many experts is New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley.
On Thursday, Barkley, who is playing on a one-year deal worth $10.091 million this season, was asked if he thought he’d still be with the Giants in two weeks.
“No, it never crossed my mind,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve been public and vocal about how I feel about this organization and where I want to be.
“But like I said, knowing the business and seeing that side of it, there are a lot of things that I can’t control. Sitting here, everyone knows how I feel. Everyone knows I don’t want to get traded. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would want to get traded anywhere. It’s not an easy thing to do, you’ve got to move, I have a family. I would love to be here but like I said, it’s not in my control. My focus is to be the leader I can be for this team to try to get this thing on the right track.”
The Giants did not sign Barkley to a long-term deal this past offseason, placing the franchise tag on him instead. That spoke volumes about how the team not only views him but the running back position in general.
Barkley is coming off a Pro Bowl season after several years of missing significant time due to injuries. He was one of three star running backs in the NFL to have the tag placed on them (Dallas’ Tony Pollard and Las Vegas’ Josh Jacobs are the others). All three held out and all three ended up signing for the franchise tender value — or a little above.
Barkley’s situation has changed, however. His leverage for a future long-term deal was wiped out when he went down in Week 2 with a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the next three games.
The Giants’ offense was pathetic without him but wasn’t much better last week in Buffalo upon his return even though he rushed for 97 yards in the game.
That may have boosted his trade value back up a bit but it’s unclear if the Giants would actually trade him for what would likely be a mid-to-late-round draft pick.
Barkley was asked if the conversation about a deal was discussed.
“With me and my team? No. My focus is Washington, trying to come back and get a win,” he said. “Obviously, I’m happy that I’m healthy again, be able to get back on the field. Got close to a win last week now just got to try to continue to improve and try to get a win.”
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