Right now, New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley is still without a contract.
The team used its franchise tag on him earlier this offseason, and he only has a few days to come to terms on a new contract or simply agree to play out the 2023 campaign on that franchise tag.
Barkley reportedly doesn’t want to play on a franchise tag, which means that the clock could be ticking on his future with the team.
Reportedly, the highest offer the Giants have made to him so far is $19.5 million in guaranteed money, but insider Jordan Raanan says the “magic number” for possibly getting a deal done is $22 million.
Been saying consistently the magic number is $22M. The #Giants haven’t gotten there. And so … here we are. The deadline is four days away. https://t.co/TpUbYiNmvu
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) July 13, 2023
Barkley is the only bona fide threat New York has on offense, and if he were to leave, they would be in a world of trouble with virtually no hope of making the playoffs anytime soon.
He was dogged by injuries in 2019, 2020, and 2021, but in 2022 he bounced back in strong fashion by posting 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns while appearing in 16 of 17 regular season games.
However, the market for running backs in the NFL has drastically declined in the past decade or so, and even the best of the best don’t command the same type of big bucks that quarterbacks and wide receivers earn.
The Giants are in a unique situation, as they lack productive wide receivers and are thus more reliant on Barkley than most teams are on their starting running back.
The next few days will be of the utmost importance when it comes to their hopes of doing anything of note this fall and winter.
NEXT:
The Giants Are Making A Notable Change At Home This Season
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