Saquon Barkley and the Giants are just weeks away from the July 17 deadline to agree on a long-term deal, and there hasn’t been any reported progress since Barkley called the team out for leaking details that were framed to make him look “greedy.”
Barkley, the face of the Giants franchise since he broke into the NFL and a 1,000-yard rusher last season, wants more than the $10.1 million he would make from the franchise tag, but Tiki notes that the expendable nature of the running back position, and Barkley’s injury history, puts Big Blue in a position to hold their ground.
“That’s the M.O.,” Tiki said. “The running back is gonna get hurt, so why pay him?”
The Giants have voiced their desire to keep Barkley in New York long term, and despite his explosiveness returning last season, Tiki can’t say for sure that he wouldn’t be easy to replace given the nature of the position.
“I know Giant fans want Saquon Barkley on this team, and feel like they need Saquon on this team,” Tiki said. “But the fact is, if he’s not on this team, I honestly don’t know if they’d be worse off. I think they would be because of the locker room, but I can’t say for a fact, ‘This team won’t win 10 games without Saquon Barkley.’ I can’t say that.”
BT can’t argue that, but says the situation with Barkley speaks to the sobering reality of how running backs are treated in terms of getting paid, despite their strenuous workload and the league’s sky-high revenue.
“With all the money in the NFL - they print money - we shouldn’t be wondering when Saquon Barkley is gonna show up to camp,” BT said. “It’s really frustrating. I’m not mad at [the players] when they reach for that lever. You have to if you have it.”
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