The New York Giants are currently in a standoff with star running back Saquon Barkley. After placing Barkley on the franchise tag, the Giants had until July 17 to sign him long-term. However, that deadline came and went without a deal in place for Barkley, leading to an uncertain future for the player.
“My leverage is I could say, ‘Fuck you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘Fuck you to my teammates’. And be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ And that’s a play I could use. Anybody [who] knows me, knows that’s not something I want to do. Is it something that’s crossed my mind? I never thought I would ever do that, but now I’m at a point where I’m like, ‘Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.’ Am I prepared to take it to this level? I don’t know," Barkley said on the Money Matters podcast. However, it appears that Barkley is now making his relationship with the team very clear.
Saquon Drops Giants From Social Media
Barkley has removed any mention of the Giants from his social media profiles. It's a battle-tested move employed in many a contract dispute across the league over the years. However, it's a clear indication that Barkley is quickly losing any love for the team that drafted him in 2018. The former Penn State back finally managed to stay healthy and put up fantastic numbers in a career year in 2022. Barkley had 1312 yards (4th) and 10 TDs (9th). However, his production has been met with a lack of promise for his future.
If Barkley does choose to hold out, it all but destroys the Giants’ ground game. The Giants have four backs behind Barkley – Matt Breida, fifth-round rookie Eric Gray, Gary Brightwell, and Jashaun Corbin. The next best rusher on the team last season was quarterback Daniel Jones, with 708 yards. However, Jones, Breida, and Brightwell combined for a total of 1069 yards last season. Barkley produced 52% of the team’s entire rushing yardage last season. While Gray produced 1366 yards at Oklahoma last year, he is an undersized rookie with limited physicality.
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