Giants Navigating Precarious Road with Saquon Barkley Contract Talks

The Giants want Saquon Barkley for the long term, but what happens if they can't make it work this year?

As far as New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is concerned, he can only coach the players who walk into the team's East Rutherford, New Jersey headquarters and not worry about anything else.

So said Daboll, when questions continue to come about the status of running back Saquon Barkley, who until such time when he either signs a new multiyear deal, signs the franchise tag, or signs a participation waiver, is technically considered part of the team and therefore cannot report to the facility to be with his teammates.

The franchise tag has been a thorn in Barkley's side--he said as much at the end of last season when he told reporters that he wouldn't necessarily like being tagged. And who could blame him?

With the tag in place, no team was willing to come knocking on his door to see if he might be interested in joining them, certainly not at the cost of the millions it would take to sign Barkley coupled with the payment of two first-round picks they'd have to surrender to the Giants if the team chose not to match any offer sheets.

And so here we are, just before the Memorial Day weekend. The Giants and Barkley remain far apart--not so much because of a disagreement regarding what the running back's APY (average per year) worth is, but more so due to a disagreement regarding the structure and guaranteed money--the latter being the most important part of any contract negotiation.

The Giants, who have said they're comfortable with Barkley playing on the $10.1 million franchise tag, have dug in.

So too, has Barkley's representation, despite the shrinking leverage, which will only completely evaporate if no deal is reached by the July 17 deadline.

And if that date comes and goes without a resolution, a whole new set of problems could potentially arise for the Giants in the form of a disgruntled player who, since being drafted No. 2 overall in 2018, has been one of the primary faces of the franchise, who has yet to put forth a wrong step, and who is loved and appreciated by his teammates and the fans.

Daboll, who has consistently declined to shed any light on where things stand with the Barkley contract talks (probably because there hasn't been any movement toward a resolution), said the key to making sure that any lingering bad feelings arising from the business aspect of things is to build productive relationships.

"There's always a business side of things in this league, and again, those conversations will remain private, but the guys on the team that you have, everybody goes through it at some point, and you just build on relationships and keep discussions private between yourself and the players," Daboll said.

That's all well and good, but unless the head coach is involved in the business side of things--that falls in general manager Joe Schoen's wheelhouse--at the end of the day, it's all about business.

The Giants are in a tough situation in that they're trying to do right by the player while at the same time not hamstringing the organization's cap on a player who, despite his appeal and what he's meant to the franchise, does have an injury history and who plays a position whose members usually have a short shelf life.

In having drafted running back Eric Gray to compete for snaps, the Giants are likely looking to incorporate more of a committee approach at running back moving forward, something that would benefit all the participants, including Barkley.

They've also added some more premium talent to a group that last year arguably overachieved, talent that could potentially take more of the pressure off Bakrley, who arguably was the Giants offense last season.

On the other hand, Barkley is likely looking for a degree of loyalty in having carried the organization through some lean years when he was healthy. As mentioned, he's highly regarded from top to bottom inside the Giants' building. He's beloved by the fans and his teammates. He's given his all every year, suffering along the way, not just physically but mentally, thanks to the strain of playing for some bad teams earlier in his career.

Understandably, Barkley wants some sort of financial guarantee to set him up for the rest of his life. Third contracts for running backs are so rare these days--just look at how former Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is struggling to find a new home.

But in the end, business is business. And sometimes, no matter how much one tries to build a relationship based on open communication and transparency, such communication can often be drowned out by the roar of the Almighty Dollar. 

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