The New York Giants will not be franchise-tagging running back Saquon Barkley for the second consecutive season, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Barkley played on the franchise tag for the Giants last season and now he is going to hit the NFL free-agent market.
He was the second overall pick for the Giants in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State. Last season with the franchise, Barkley rushed for 962 yards on 247 carries and six touchdowns, along with averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He also caught 41 passes for 280 yards receiving and four touchdowns, along with averaging 6.8 yards per reception.
Saquon Barkley is 27 years old. A lot of people thought that the Giants should have paid him last offseason rather than quarterback Daniel Jones. This can very well be it for Barkley in a Giants uniform now that he is going to hit the free-agent market.
Teams like the Baltimore Ravens, the Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Texans, and the Los Angeles Chargers will be more than interested in bringing him in. It will also be interesting to see what kind of contract he will get with them rather than the New York Giants.
It would also feel like a surprise at this point if they brought him back. It appears as if both franchises want to go in a different direction.
New York Giants Fans React to Saquon Barkley Not Getting Franchise Tagged
The Giants fanbase has been responding to a lot of offseason stuff over the past several days on Twitter. New York fans responded to Rich Eisen’s comments about quarterback Daniel Jones.
Now they responded to the news of Barkley not getting tagged. This is what some of them said about not getting tagged:
Here’s what I think, and this is my opinion:
I believe the Giants like the idea of Saquon Barkley and what he represents, who he is, and want him to stay.
I think if this was football-only, and Giants could reconstruct this offense, they would not do it with Barkley as the…
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) March 5, 2024
I have a feeling Saquon Barkley is gonna boom like Christian McCaffrey if he picks the right team https://t.co/BO0Og50vF5
— NBA Slime (@TerryFranconia) March 5, 2024
Saquon Barkley is a generational running back. The Giants are doing him dirty. Any smart team should be throwing him a BLANK check. pic.twitter.com/sFJ0xdH2oe
— Cam (@DrakeMayeFC) March 5, 2024
Calling Barkley a generational running back is a far stretch, but he is a talented one. There will no doubt be suitors, but will he get what he wants on the open market? If no one wants to sign him to a rich contract, it is possible that the Giants bring him back for the 2024 season and maybe beyond.