What Are Next Steps For New York Giants And Saquon Barkley?

The 4 PM ET deadline to sign Saquon Barkley to a long-term contract has come and gone for the New York Giants, with Monday afternoon serving as the official decoupling between the long-parallel tracks between Barkley and Daniel Jones in the team’s future plans.

That doesn’t mean we won’t see both of them in Giants uniforms for many years to come, however.

Jones, of course, was signed to a massive four-year, $160 million contract back in April that can be worth up to $195 million with incentives. But the divergence here between Jones and Barkley has a lot less to do with how the team values each as a potential member of the group going forward, and everything to do with how NFL teams are valuing quarterbacks and running backs right now.

For his part, Barkley seemed circumspect about the breakdown in negotiations, which reportedly went until the final minutes Monday afternoon.

But this was the order of the day across the league. The Las Vegas Raiders and Josh Jacobs also failed to reach agreement on a long-term deal. In both cases, the deadline of 4 PM ET on July 17 existed because each player had been given a franchise tag. It means that Barkley, like Jacobs, can only now be signed to that franchise tag-level deal of $10.1 million for one year.

He’s yet to sign it, nor has Jacobs, though Dallas running back Tony Pollard signed his. But all that really means is that Barkley doesn’t need to report to training camp without any financial penalty. Only if he holds out until the regular season would he face any financial consequences.

Nor does this mean Barkley is destined to only play one more season with the Giants, then head to free agency. The Giants could use a franchise tag on him again next offseason.

All of which creates uncertainty, but not a divorce. And the contrast with Jones reflects an offseason in which both Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson signed long-term deals, at well over $40 million per season, to get locked in at quarterback for the Eagles and Ravens, respectively.

It’s pretty simple: 2023 NFL front offices think it is possible to win with running backs by committee and not with uncertainty at quarterback. Those same Eagles let Miles Sanders walk, and are utilizing a combination of returnees Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott and newcomers D’Andre Swift in Rashad Penny in his place.

The next move belongs to Barkley — when and if to sign the franchise tag deal — but just as important to watch will be how the Giants prepare the running back position on the roster. Is it a build with backups in mind? Or do they do something to address a potential hole at the starting spot?

Much remains unknown. That’s all the locked into place on Monday.