Saquon Barkley will surely provide us with plenty of fun moments this season, though none quite as entertaining as when he said recently that he might sit out 2023 in a contract dispute. “That’s a play I could use,” Barkley told the Money Matters podcast, in the way that a coach might describe a fake punt flea-flicker in which all of his linemen stop blocking and do the Griddy, or a poker player might bluff by casually mentioning he is holding five aces.
Barkley was obviously never going to skip the season. That was just something to say during contract negotiations. Now that he has agreed to a one-year deal with the Giants—a deal that is better than the franchise tag by just enough for Barkley to claim he won something—it will be up to some other running back to try to break the system.
It would be fun to see one try. The player might even succeed, as long as the right running back uses the right tactics to do it. I believe those tactics exist. I’m just not sure what they are.
