4 teams who would jump at signing Saquon Barkley if Giants let him walk

Everyone is waiting to see what decision NY Giants general manager Joe Schoen makes with Saquon Barkley. Will the two sides be able to reach an agreement on a multi-year deal for No. 26, or will the Giants end up tagging the playmaker. We should find out soon, but there’s also a chance that the G-Men move on from Saquon.

Trust us – we don’t want to see that happen, but you never know what kind of offseason plans Schoen has, especially if Barkley is looking to make around $15-16 million a season.

Should Barkley hit free agency, there are several teams who would surely love to throw some big money at him. Here’s four in particular:

4. New England Patriots

From the moment Tom Brady decided to leave town, things just haven’t felt right for the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick is still considered one of the best coaches of all time, but the Pats have lost some sizzle and they haven’t even come close to getting back to the Super Bowl. The future doesn’t look all that bright for them on offense.

However, Barkley is the kind of playmaker who could come in and really change things overall for the offense. The Patriots are over the failed experiment which had Joe Judge and Matt Patricia trying to run the New England offense. Instead, Bill O’Brien has been hired as the new offensive coordinator.

Last season, Barkley topped 1,300 yards rushing and added 10 touchdowns. What makes him so special too is his ability to catch the ball and then turn upfield for some more head-turning plays. The Pats do have Rhamondre Stevenson, coming off a 1,000-yard season, but Barkley is on another level. New England could be a team to watch here.

3. Denver Broncos

Yiu can’t even put into words how terrible the 2022 season was for the Denver Broncos. When the AFC West side traded for Russell Wilson, fans started booking trips for Glendale, Ariz. for February of 2023. Now, those same folks probably canceled their plans, as they don’t want to see the Eagles and Chiefs go to battle.

The Broncos didn’t even sniff the playoffs, and Wilson had easily his worth NFL season. Everything that could have gone wrong for Denver last fall did, but things are already looking better now that Sean Payton has been hired as the team’s new head coach. With the Broncos giving up a first-rounder for him, you know they mean business.

The next order of business is bringing in offensive help for Wilson and Barkley should be at the top of their list, if he hits free agency that is. Barkley could be the explosive kind of player that the Broncos are missing. Wilson figures to bounce back next year, but he’ll need help.

2. Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen is golfing these days outside of the cold weather in Buffalo and no one expected him to be doing that this time of the year. It really felt like it was written in the stars for the Bills to break through and win the AFC this year. After losing to the Chiefs in back-to-back campaigns, this time it was the Cincinnati Bengals who destroyed their dreams.

Now, the Bills are going to work on improving this team in the offseason to try and be in the Lombardi Trophy hunt at this point next year. This past offseason and before the trade deadline, there were plenty of rumors out there saying that Barkley could be Buffalo-bound. In the end, though, Schoen kept Saquon in East Rutherford.

The Bills have some questions to answer in the coming months, most importantly regarding the future of Stefon Diggs. At running back, Devin Singletary is set to become a free agent, and he was on a cheap four-year deal. If the Bills are serious about trying to take down Cincy or KC in the playoffs, then they’d absolutely have to give Barkley a strong look.

1. Baltimore Ravens

The favorite to ink Barkley if he leaves Big Blue is Baltimore, which isn’t much of a surprise. Similar to the Bills, there was speculation about Barkley making his way to the AFC North before the season kicked off. The Bucs were another team potentially in the mix, but everything has changed now that Brady has retired.

With the Ravens, their top priority has to be agreeing to an extension with Lamar Jackson. Despite Jackson dealing with his knee injury to close out the second half of the season, no one can argue he’s one of the most electric players in the game, and we all saw how bad the Ravens were without him running the offense.

Jackson is going to break the bank with his new deal and the Ravens will need to make sure he’s got ample stars next to him to try and get this team back to the Super Bowl. Barkley isn’t going to fix this team alone if he signs, but he would finally give Jackson a fellow dynamite player to work with next to him. The Ravens have been known more for their defensive power, but signing Barkley would change that story.

All of this could end up being meaningless if the Giants and Barkley end up agreeing to a new deal this month. With Joe Schoen back from the Senior Bowl, he said that the discussions with Barkley’s reps will once again get going.

If Barkley is willing to play for around $12-13 million a season, then his future could be at MetLife Stadium. If he wants more money, then things could end up getting complicated for him and NY.

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