There has been no rush, no urgency, nor has there been a need for one.
But at least now there are no more draft picks for Giants general manager Joe Schoen to make this year.
And after the 2023 NFL Draft ended Saturday night, Schoen revealed that he has opened the door to reaching a deal with Saquon Barkley on a contract extension.
“We’ll have conversations with him. We had conversations last week,” Schoen said.
Schoen went as far as saying that he is working on resolving any salary-cap issues in the interim.
“We’ll talk this coming week now that the draft’s over, so we’ll kind of reconvene, see if it makes sense,” Schoen said.
There are enough arguments to justify both sides of the To Sign Or Not To Sign debate regarding Saquon Barkley and a contract extension. It has felt since the end of the season like the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.
Todd Gurley stands tall as the cautionary tale of the perils of signing a running back to a long-term contract.
And then there is the Devaluation of The NFL Running Back.
And then there is Barkley rejecting, during the bye week last season, an extension that would have paid him more than $2 million per than the $10.1M franchise tag that is on his plate right now.
It’s a bottom-line business. Always has been, always will be. But here is another bottom line:
Barkley is the face of the franchise not named $40M Man Daniel Jones. Franchise quarterbacks get the big money. The NFL is not a running back-driven league.
Barkley is a revered figure in the Giants’ locker room. John Mara loves him. Barkley represents the Giants the way every owner wishes any player, especially a marquee player, would represent his franchise.
It may make sense for Schoen and the Giants to refuse to budge now off the franchise tag. But does it make sense for the club to take a my-way-or-the-highway stance that at best may disappoint Barkley and at worst may alienate him?
And, oh, by the way, he happens to be their best player, and still happens to be more than a running back because he is a weapon for Jones in the passing game.
The Giants can point to his injury history and the ever present reality that confronts all running backs. Barkley can argue that there is plenty of tread left on his tires as he enters his prime.
If Barkley was offered and rejected extensions that would have paid him in the $12.5M and $13M average annual value, let the Giants revisit the offers and let Barkley revisit the opportunity to accept and view it as a compromise olive branch.
Schoen drafting Oklahoma running back Eric Gray — who is 5-foot-9 ¹/₂, 207 pounds, with three-down upside (99-827-5 TDs receiving) — in Round 5 is fodder for conspiracy theorists.
“I watched a lot of Saquon, so being able to just learn from him, learn the things that he did as a rookie being successful in the league, I think that’s gonna be a great thing for me,” Gray said.
Barkley acknowledged that he never had any illusions about resetting the running back market. He never was going to approach Christian McCaffrey’s $16M AAV, or Alvin Kamara’s $15M AAV. But he has every right to believe he belongs in the following neighborhood:
Dalvin Cook $12.6M.
Derrick Henry $12.5M.
Nick Chubb $12.2M.
Joe Mixon: $12M
Cook will turn 28 in August. Henry is 29. Chubb is 27. Mixon will turn 27 in July, and recently pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing.
Barkley has 247 career receptions for 1,820 yards and eight TDs, ahead of Cook (221-1,794-5), Chubb (119-990-4), Henry (127-1,244-3) and Mixon (231-1,763-10). On the ground, Barkley’s 954-4,249-29 TDs trail Henry (1,750-8,335-78), Cook (1,282-5,993-47), Chubb (1,210-6,341-48) and Mixon (1,314-5,378-40).
Barkley opted not to attend organized team activities, and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who is in line for a monster payday, also skipped them.
“Honestly, I think he’s one of the best backs in the National Football League,” the Giants’ second-round pick, center John Michael Schmitz, said. “He’s a great player. He’s explosive, and he’s tough. He runs the ball tough.”
Jones, who is admittedly biased, called Barkley the best running back in the NFL on Baggie Day. It should carry weight with the decision-makers.
Pay-quon Time.