The NFL teams will start cutting players to make room on their roster, selecting free agents, and selecting players to fill needs in the upcoming weeks as the roster-building season approaches. Following a dismal 6-11 campaign, the New York Giants enter their third off-season under general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, and every choice they make will be scrutinized more than before. When the new league year starts on March 13, the Giants will turn to free agency once they have resolved their cap predicament. And running back Saquon Barkley is one major decision the Giants need to make.
Barkley and the Giants have expressed openness about wanting to reach a long-term agreement, but as we seen last season, that didn’t happen, and Barkley ultimately signed a modified one-year franchise tag. However, this year is different from last, when the Giants could afford to carry Barkley on the tag. They do not want to pay the estimated $12.1 million to tag him for a second year in a row.
The Giants may either tag Barkley with an agreement to allow the team to match whatever offer he receives, or they can leave him untagged and give themselves till the end of the week to hammer out a deal that will result in a tag-and-trade.
In any case, it sounds like the Giants may need to be ready for life without Barkley. Although he didn’t produce as much as he did in 2022, Barkley still manage to total 1,200 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns. The Giants will need a reliable running back if Barkley leaves to supplement the group that presently has only Eric Gray, Gary Brightwell, and Jashaun Corbin as contracted backs.
