The Giants made two decisions this offseason with two key offensive players: they did not pick up Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option, nor did they end up reaching a contract extension with Saquon Barkley.
Their statuses, and that of other free agents to be, were something general manager Joe Schoen said he would explore over the bye week, and we know the team discussed extending Barkley.
"We'll have those meetings this week," GM Joe Schoen had said in his press conference just after the trade deadline. "We'll talk about it if we want to, then we'll kind of circle up with some strategy meetings as we move forward on contract extensions and if we may or may not do anybody.”
"Yeah, I mean, we got into a little bit of conversation," Barkley added Sunday of those discussions. "But at the end of the day, I put that in the past. It was a bye week. Obviously, we weren't able to come to an agreement during the bye week and my mindset is just focus on the rest of the season – next week, going to Detroit and let it go.”
As Barkley said, the bye week discussion was the bye week discussion, and now, it looks like the two sides will convene again early next year once the Giants’ season ends.
Related
“I don’t really care about it, to be honest; I just want to win football games,” he said. “When that opportunity comes up again, focus on it then. I know how they feel about me, and they spoke very high of me. But, like I said, we weren't able to get anything done during the bye week and I agree with Joe: just lock it up and work for the rest of the season and make sure a distraction doesn't come out of it."
The Giants may want to finish that expedition soon, because every week that goes by seems like some more zeroes added on to Saquon’s next deal. Sunday, it was Barkley rushing 35 times for 152 yards and catching one eight-yard pass, moving himself up to second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage behind Tyreek Hill, who has yet to have his bye week.
“He looked good to me,” Daboll smiled of Barkley. “The thing with him is that he takes a lot of shots, so the sports science staff tries to do the best job we can of practicing him the right way. This week he was fresh, so he had a really good week of practice; he was running the ball 80 yards and coming back for more. I thought what he did during the week carried over. He had a good day, and he’s having a great season for us.”
Reports say that Barkley is looking to be paid like one of the elite backs, up in the echelon of the highest-paid in the game, and NFL.com insider and frequent WFAN guest Ian Rapoport says the Giants are “making a good run at it.”
Related
And that’s good, it seems, because Barkley wants to be True Blue for as long as possible.
“I mean, I think I've kind of been vocal, before contracts were even brought up, about how I feel about this place, and where I want my legacy to be in this place," Barkley said. "I want to be a Giant for life. I’ve been vocal about that, so if the conversation gets brought up again, then we'll go from there."
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch