Over the past few weeks, New York Giants star Saquon Barkley and some of the NFL’s top running backs have dominated the headlines due to contract negotiations falling flat ahead of the deadline for franchise-tagged players.
The Giants were among a few teams that refused to agree to a long-term contract extension with their elite back, which rubbed Barkley and other star backs like Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard the wrong way.
Things had gotten so ugly between Barkley and the Giants organization that the Pro Bowler was strongly considering sitting out the entire 2023 NFL season in order to make a point.
This must have lit a fire under the decision-makers in the Giants front office as the team has now agreed to a deal with Barkley, which is a one-year contract for $11 million with an added $2 million of incentives.
This was a shocking turn of events, as many anticipated Barkley to either sit out the 2023 campaign or play on the franchise tag for a little over $10 million.
As a result of the deal, Giants legend Eli Manning felt compelled to react, as he quote-tweeted the news urging his former team to now get to work with Barkley back in the fold.
Time to get to work G-Men. https://t.co/l2uYrYGioN
— Eli Manning (@EliManning) July 25, 2023
With Barkley agreeing to this deal, it’ll be interesting to see if Jacobs will do the same or something similar, even though all signs point to him missing training camp for the Las Vegas Raiders and skipping the NFL preseason.
This does feel like a step in the right direction for running backs, but there’s still a lot of work to do in order for these players to get some long-term job security.
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Saquon Barkley Could Reach Henry, McCaffrey Territory With A Huge 2023 Season