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Saquon Barkley is in the midst of an offseason stalemate with the Giants as he looks to land a new contract. New York’s leading rusher is fresh off his best professional season to date, recording career-highs in carries and yards.
The two sides have failed to reach an agreement thus far, with the tailback declining the option to sign under a $10.1 million franchise tag. Instead, he hopes to receive a long-term deal.
Barkley and the Giants have until Monday to come to terms on that long-term option. If an agreement is not reached, he’ll play under the tag.
Dianna Russini of ESPN reports that that potential outcome could put his availability for Week 1 at risk.
“I was told that there’s no movement on getting this long-term deal done,” Russini said in a recent interview. “So, what does this mean? I was told by sources close to Saquon Barkley that the option is on the table for the running back to skip training camp, and to even miss Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.”
She continued on to say that New York doesn’t seem motivated to get a deal done as they believe he’ll play under the tag in the season’s entirety in order to not lose out on any money.
Saquon Barkley appears to be refuting the claims about his contract deadlock.
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) July 12, 2023
Barkley’s calling “cap” on the Russini report, though it’s not clear whether he’s talking about the negotiations or the possibility of missing regular season action.
The football world was quick to respond to the running back’s denial.
“Which part is cap?” one fan asked.
Someone else said, “You know what you’re worth. Make them pay you.”
Others just thought it was funny seeing Saquon call out the media reports.
😂😂😂
— Shawne Merriman (@shawnemerriman) July 12, 2023
Time will tell whether or not Saquon Barkley and the Giants reach their contract agreement. The two sides have five days to negotiate that long-term deal.