After placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on star running back Saquon Barkley, NY Giants general manager Joe Schoen isn’t done negotiating with him. From both sides, there’s still plenty of hope that a long-term deal can still be agreed upon. There’s still a gap in the talks, but who knows, maybe the two sides can meet in the middle.
No one can question how important Barkley is for the NY offense, as he’s coming off one of the best seasons of his young career. If you ask former Giants tight end Evan Engram, who was just placed on the franchise tag himself by the Jags, Schoen and the NY front office should give Barkley the kind of dough he’s asking for.
The NY Giants could still finalize a deal with Saquon Barkley soon
As things stand, Barkley will be set to make $10.1 million for next season playing on the tag. However, come on, he doesn’t want that to be the case. Barkley wants to be paid like one of the top running backs out there. Schoen wants to get this done with him, but reports state that the G-Men aren’t willing to go higher than around $13 million.
Barkley is looking for something in the $14-15 million per campaign range. Because of this, and with Schoen signing Daniel Jones to his mega-deal, NY had no choice but to tag Barkley. Over the next few weeks, however, there’s optimism that a new contract for Saquon can be finalized.
The Pro Bowl RB looked fantastic this past season for the Giants, playing a big role in the team going 9-7-1 during the regular season. Barkley was also a monster vs. the Vikings in the Wild Card Round win, rushing for two touchdowns.
Barkley has a lot of people in his corner pushing for him to get paid top dollar. Engram is on the list, as is Jones and many others.
5 NY Giants first-round targets who stood out at the NFL Combine
With the Combine wrapping up recently, these five first-round targets for the NY Giants stood out and surely turned Joe Schoen's head.