Giants Country

Saquon Barkley Defends His Value

Barkley shared some theories regarding the running back market's nosedive while also defending his value.

Patricia Traina

Saquon Barkley Defends His Value
Saquon Barkley Defends His Value /
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For whatever reason, NFL running backs have decreased in value regarding contracts. But New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who is currently locked in a contract impasse with the team, believes that it’s not fair to lump everyone into the same pot. 

“There’s a [stat] that goes up about quarterbacks in the Super Bowl and how many rushing yards the top rusher [has]. [Chiefs quarterback] Pat Mahomes is a two-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time MVP, and not everybody has Pat Mahomes,” Barkley told reporters during his recent youth football camp in which he spoke publicly about his contract standoff with the Giants for the first time. 

“And this is no knock to [Giants quarterback] Daniel Jones, so don’t even try to flip it like that,” he quickly added.

Barkley’s point was that every team’s talent is different, pointing to how the Eagles are loaded with talent while other teams might not be as lucky.

Like the Giants last year, who lacked top-shelf playmakers on offense other than for Jones and Barkley, the latter carried the team offensively for the first half of the season until the passing game found its sea legs.

“We were a one-dimensional team at the beginning of the season,” Barkley said. “We were running the ball. We have a great coach. We played the Detroit Lions. They came in, stopped me, and we had to switch it up. We had a whole new game plan. We found a way to get the job done and make it to the playoffs.”

And according to Barkley, his contributions were key to the Giants making it to their first postseason berth since 2016.

“I feel like I helped our team a lot,” he said. “I feel like not only on the field but off the field as a leader. There’s a conversation about my numbers going down. I think there’s a whole lot of other stuff that happened.”

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Barkley told reporters that he’s upset with being miscast as greedy during the negotiations, insisting that people don’t believe everything they read. However, he chose not to pull back the curtain some more regarding what was going on behind the scenes after not-so-subtly calling out the Giants for leaking details about the contract negotiations that have conjured up a negative impression of him in the court of public opinion.

Barkley has said this whole process is about respect, but short of providing details, he’s unlikely to sway those who stand against him getting paid to his side.

Although Barkley again insisted that he wasn’t looking to re-set any markets at his position, he strongly hinted that the guaranteed money he was offered in the two contract proposals the Giants put on the table before withdrawing both after using the franchise tag on him was at the crux of the gap that exists between his side and the team.

“I said I’m not trying to re-set the market. I said I wanted to be a Giant for life. So, I’ll let you read in between the lines for that,” Barkley said.

While Barkley does have a point about carrying the Giants offense for the first half of last season, this year is a brand-new story. The Giants added some additional playmakers: tight end Darren Waller, receivers Parris Campbell and Jalin Hyatt, and running back Eric Gray. 

The presumption is that the coaching staff, which had to squeeze every last ounce of juice out of a skill position group last year that dealt with injuries and which didn’t exactly scare anyone, will be able to do far more with the play-calling to where they don’t have to rely solely on Barkley to move the chains.

Therein could lie the issue with New York not wanting to splurge on a running back who, while a solid locker room citizen and who has proudly been the fact of the franchise, also carries an injury history and a 19-40-1 record as a Giant in games in which he’s appeared dating back to his rookie season.

As for the running back market being what it is— “disappointing” is a good word—Barkley believes that the decisions by the Giants, Raiders, and Cowboys to tag their top running backs hurt the market for those who did.

“It’s not fair,” Barkley said, failing to factor in the rich running back draft class as a factor that helped tilt the supply-and-demand scales in favor of the buyer.

Barkley also didn’t mention how two of the league’s previously top highest running backs, Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys and Dalvin Cook of the Vikings, were let go by their respective teams, nor did he mention the ongoing rumors of the Titans reportedly wanting to move on from Derrick Henry.

Barkley would like a resolution to be reached before the July 17 deadline. He wasn’t willing to hedge his bets of that happening, but if nothing else, he knows his worth to the Giants and wasn’t afraid to let it be known that others did as well.

“I have a lot of respect in this league,” he said. “And I think that’s how I should be viewed.” 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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