Free Agency is always a time for heartbreak for some fanbases, and exuberant joy for others.
After a day in which Barkley was not tagged, the Giants are letting their #2 selection from 2018 walk away for the first time in his career. The value of running backs has, and will continue to be, a sore spot for discussion amongst many in the league. Barkley will hit the market and test things out for the first time in his six-year career.
Barkley Free Agency Target #1: Staying Home
Saquon has stated that he’d rather remain a Giant for life. Despite this, Saquon has faced five out of six losing seasons since he was drafted by Big Blue in 2018. A Running Back will not hold up very well, especially as he continues to age past his late twenties, and Barkley wants to pursue rings before he falls away to the same pitfalls as every Running Back. Staying home may be a popular decision for some, but for others, it would not be a very smart one, especially if the Giants cannot climb out of the losing funk they have remained in since winning Super Bowl 46.
Barkley Free Agency Target #2: Houston Texans
The Texans stunned the NFL world in multiple ways in 2023. A division they were not expected to win let alone be competitive in, the Texans won it with a 10-7 record after a late season collapse by rival Jacksonville. The Texans even went out and won their first postseason game in years.
This may be likelier than we think, as Houston is a team on the rise and Barkley’s talents would be massive for Houston to take continued forward leaps in an AFC where the Chiefs will remain very dominant.
Barkley Free Agency Target #3: Baltimore Ravens
Odell Beckham Jr. and Saquon Barkley only shared the field together for one season in New York. But for Beckham and the Ravens, adding more help in the backfield would go a long way to correcting the mistakes that doomed them in the AFC Championship game.
John Harbaugh was criticized heavily for not leaning on his ground game in that loss, and this Free Agency, acquiring Barkley’s services would ensure that same mistake will not be made twice.
Barkley Free Agency Target #4: Los Angeles Chargers
There is often a saying that time is a flat circle. Indeed, we are seeing that as John’s brother Jim returns to the NFL after a decade away, to shape the Los Angeles Chargers going forward. Jim Harbaugh faced Saquon’s Penn State units multiple times in College. In their matchups, Harbaugh took down Saquon’s Nittany Lions all but once.
For an offense that finished in the bottom half in 2023, Barkley would make an immediate impact.
A Giants Fan’s Take on Free Agency
Saquon has done so much for a team that has been trapped in the doldrums for so long. Unfortunately, his time in New York may indeed be coming to a swift end, only eight months after we sat and felt just as nervous about his contract dispute last summer. Wherever he goes, Barkley will provide much-needed help, while our fanbase has to pick up the pieces without him.