We're now counting down the hours to the July 17 deadline, as the NY Giants and Saquon Barkley have until 4 p.m. ET on Monday to get things figured out contract wise. Either the G-Men and Joe Schoen pay Saquon and make him happy, or they risk him sitting out Week 1 vs. the Cowboys.
For a while now, people have been begging Schoen to get things done in time. Now, former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum is the latest person to voice his opinion on the situation. Straight up, the former Jets executive thinks Schoen would be foolish not extend Barkley as soon as possible:
.@RealTannenbaum says the Giants should sign Saquon Barkley to a long-term deal: pic.twitter.com/U8qDGk5fh4
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 13, 2023
Ryan Tannenbaum wants to see Saquon Barkley paid by Monday
Per Tannenbaum, Barkley is simply too important for this offense and Daniel Jones for Schoen and the front office to risk not having him out on the field. Tannenbaum noted that there's a chance we not only see Barkley be a camp holdout, but also that he could sit out the Cowboys game to send a message.
The Giants are already underdogs for that Sunday Night Football meeting with Dallas in September to start the regular season. Do we really think the G-Men have a chance to take down America's Team if Barkley is watching this one from home?
On one side of things, plenty of people have serious doubt that Barkley will put the pen to paper. However, there are plenty of experts who think $13-14 million a year and around $25-26 million in guaranteed money over the first two years would be enough for No. 26.
Again, we have until 4 p.m. ET on Monday to see how everything plays out. This contract situation could go down to the wire in similar fashion to when Schoen inked Jones to his mega-deal. The clock is ticking.
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