Saquon Barkley always envisioned himself as the face of the New York Giants, ever since the organization made him the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but after getting a taste of the business of the NFL, those visions are changing.
The star running back is approaching free agency for the second consecutive offseason, after the Giants used the franchise tag to keep him in New York for the 2023 season, and hitting the market at a time when running backs have never been valued less.
While Christian McCaffrey is the highest-paid running back in the NFL, at $16 million annually, he's only the 114th highest-paid player in the league, which adds context to the market Barkley is walking into.
"It sucks that I'm part of that trend right now," Barkley told Complex.com, of hitting free agency at a time when teams are pinching pennies at the running back position. "But, there will be a time where running backs will get paid again."
There's always the possibility that the Giants could use the tag on Barkley, again, but with just $27.7 million in cap space and the running back tag projected to come in at approximately approximately $12.4 million, that is far from a guarantee.
"Yeah, I mean it never crossed my mind until last year after I got tagged," Barkley said, of the possibility of winding up on a different team. "Up until that moment, I really believe that I was gonna finish my career as a New York Giant. You know, that was a goal of mine. And that's still in play. I have so much respect for the Mara family and the Tisch family and everyone in the Giants organization.
"They know that but once you get to this point, you go to your contract negotiation and you go through the tag process, you realize how much of a business it is. And I remember vets always telling me this and you know I believed them, but you don't really know something until you go through it. So could I see myself in another uniform? Yeah, it's possible."
Barkley rushed for 962 yards with six touchdowns in 2023, but where he lines up in 2024 could be one of the biggest storylines of the offseason.
