Giants and Saquon Barkley appear destined to go separate ways
To the right, Sterling Shepard was sitting on a stool and talking about the end of his Giants career, relishing the chance this Sunday to run through the MetLife Stadium tunnel one last time.
To the left, Justin Pugh delayed a trip to the shower to consider if there is a third act for him with the Giants, the team that 11 years ago made him a first-round draft pick.
Shepard likely will never play another snap in the NFL after this weekend. Pugh might not, as well.
In the middle of these two veterans, Saquon Barkley stood in front of his locker, a black hooded sweatshirt covering the sides of his face. He did not contemplate the end of his playing days. He will be in the NFL in 2024. At this point, with this troubling season for Barkley and the Giants mercifully coming to an end not soon enough, it is difficult to envision Barkley suiting up in that popular No. 26 jersey ever again for the franchise that once viewed him as the most super of superstars.
It is not that Barkley wants out or that the Giants have decided to move on. More precisely, it is that Barkley for the first time can mention wanting a “fresh start’’ and it sounds more like a plan than negotiating rhetoric. More precisely, it feels as if the Giants will lack much or any sentiment this time when they figure out what Barkley is worth, in as much as he currently is 14th among NFL running backs in rushing with 916 yards and the centerpiece of an offense that is 30th in the league in scoring
“Me sitting here saying, ‘I want to be a Giant for life’ like I did last year, it doesn’t help, it doesn’t hurt,’’ Barkley said Wednesday in a candid session with the media. “So, I’ll just leave that up to those guys.’’
Those guys — mostly general manager Joe Schoen — showed their hand a year ago after Barkley in his first season with the new Schoen-Brian Daboll regime rushed for a career-high 1,312 yards, staying healthy for the first time in his career as the Giants made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Barkley was a major contributor to a winning team and, he thought, helped increase his value in a severely depressed running back market.
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The tango the Giants and Barkley hit the dance floor with last year resulted in Barkley rejecting a two-year contract where they offered to guarantee him two years and between $22 million and $23 million. The Giants slapped the franchise tag of $10.1 million on him and then came to an agreement to sweeten the pot with $900,000 in incentives. It really was nothing more than artificial sweetener. Even if he hit every statistical benchmark, he would not see an extra dime unless the Giants made the playoffs.
Well, we all know how that went. Barkley is struggling to get to 1,000 rushing yards, he has eight total touchdowns and only 39 receptions, not at all aided by upheaval at quarterback and usually operating behind an unstable offensive line. Plus, he got hurt again, with an ankle injury that cost him three games. And the Giants, in case you haven’t noticed, are not headed to the playoffs, as they close out with the Eagles and will finish at either 5-12 or 6-11
