The July 17 deadline for NFL teams to sign their franchise-tagged players to long-term deals came and went without the league's three tagged running backs agreeing to new contracts. This led to a wave of backlash across social media as people blasted teams for continuing to undervalue the position.
However, the consequences might just be beginning. The most prominent of the trio to not receive a deal was Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants. Barkley, who was drafted in 2018, was hoping for a long-term deal after a career year in 2022. The former Penn State back finally managed to stay healthy and put up fantastic numbers in a turnaround season for the team. Barkley had 1312 yards (4th) and 10 TDs (9th). Now, Barkley is considering what his next move could be.
Barkley Hints At Sitting Out The Season
Speaking on the Money Matters podcast, Barkley did not rule out skipping part or all of the 2023 season. "My leverage is I could say, 'Fuck you' to the Giants, I could say, 'Fuck you to my teammates'. And be like, 'You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won't show up. I won't play a down.' And that's a play I could use. Anybody [who] knows me, knows that's not something I want to do. Is it something that's crossed my mind? I never thought I would ever do that, but now I'm at a point where I'm like, 'Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.' Am I prepared to take it to this level? I don't know."
If Barkley does choose to hold out, it all but destroys the Giants' ground game. The Giants have four backs behind Barkley - Matt Breida, fifth-round rookie Eric Gray, Gary Brightwell, and Jashaun Corbin. The next best rusher on the team last season was quarterback Daniel Jones, with 708 yards. However, Jones, Breida, and Brightwell combined for a total of 1069 yards last season. Barkley produced 52% of the team's entire rushing yardage last season. While Gray produced 1366 yards at Oklahoma last year, he is an undersized rookie with limited physicality. While the Giants can't offer Barkley a new contract until the end of the year now, they need to do something in order to avoid taking a major step back.
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