Saquon Barkley Pondering ‘Next Level’ Of Contract Negotiations
Giants running back Saquon Barkley says he is considering not playing next season after the franchise tag deadline on Monday.
A long term deal is now off the table for Saquon Barkley and he still hasn’t signed the franchise tender placed on him in March.
Saquon Barkley’s 2022 was possibly his best season since his rookie year, but he’s a victim of the RB market. The New York Giants star went to his first Pro Bowl since 2018 last year.
As well as that, he set a career-high in rushing yards (1,312) and had ten touchdowns. Barkley even scored twice in his playoff debut against the Giants.
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Speaking before the franchise tag deadline, Barkley said abstaining entirely was an option.
“My leverage is I could say, ‘f— you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘f— you to my teammates,’ ” he said.Â
“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,” Barkley added. “But is it something that crossed my mind, I never thought I would ever do that. But now I’m at a point where it’s like, ‘Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.’Â
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“Am I prepared and willing to take it to the level. I don’t know. That’s something I gotta sit down.
“I gotta sit down and talk to my family. I gotta sit down and talk to my team. gotta really strategize about this. Can’t just go off emotions. I can try to get as much money as I can, but what really matters is winning. I know if I’m able to bring a championship to New York, that’s going to go miles more ahead than this contract.”
