The New York Giants may have eventually given Saquon Barkley a slight bump from his franchise tag salary but not without trying to get rid of him first.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported the Giants contacted a dozen teams in hopes of trading their Pro Bowl running back. The report did not indicate what the Giants asked for in return in trade talks, but a deal never came to fruition.
According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, the Miami Dolphins were among the teams to call the Giants about a deal but were turned down.
Barkley signed a one-year contract worth up to $11 million Tuesday after threatening to hold out for the 2023 season.
The deal amounted to only the most moderate of concessions from the Giants. who held a hardline stance with Barkley in long-term contract negotiations this offseason. Barkley reportedly sought a deal worth $15-16 million annually. With the franchise tag coming in at just $10.1 million, New York held firm despite its star running back becoming increasingly vocal about his unhappiness.
Barkley told The Money Matters podcast he would consider sitting out the season earleir this month.
“My leverage is I could say, ‘F— you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘F— you to my teammates,” Barkley said in the July 11 interview. “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 rushed for a career-high 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns last season while adding 57 receptions for 338 years as a receiver. He’s been consistently dynamic when healthy since being taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, but Barkley has missed time in three of his five NFL seasons.
It’s likely Barkley’s injury history, along with his desire for a long-term contract, played the biggest factor in rival teams declining the Giants’ overtures.
