BERN, BABY BERN BE GOODBYE Barkley knows Sunday might be end for him and Giants, and says ‘fresh start’ has crossed his mind
Former Yankee Bernie Williams to join New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center in April
Saquon Barkley knows there is a possibility that Sunday’s finale against the Philadelphia Eagles could be his last game as a Giant.
The running back admitted in a candid Wednesday interview that he still wants to be a Giant for life, but the idea of a “fresh start” or “clean slate” in some fashion has crossed his mind during a discouraging season like this.
“Does a fresh start cross my mind? I guess anybody when you look at the season, the way it went, I feel like everybody would want a fresh start,” Barkley said. “Not just saying somewhere else, but just a clean slate. That’s how I look at it to be honest. So if I did hit the open market, that (would be) God’s plan for me to get another opportunity and to continue to try to create a legacy for myself with my football career.”
The Giants have the ability to franchise tag Barkley, 26, a second straight offseason to retain him for an extra year. So he could be back on another one-year deal. But Barkley stressed that this is the time in his career that he must capitalize on his value.
“If I do strike, I’m gonna have to do it now,” he said. “This is probably my last opportunity to get a second deal. After that, the way they view running backs and the way they treat running backs, it’s not really ideal if you’re looking at it that way.”
Striking would mean signing a lucrative, longer-term contract with either the Giants or another team.
Asked if he’d be open to getting something done with the Giants before free agency starts, Barkley said: “I’m still as open as I was before. I just want something that’s fair and that makes sense … But I get it’s a business. And if it’s not here, hopefully it’s some other place.”
Wednesday’s interview amounted to Barkley going on the offensive to kick off his latest round of negotiations with the Giants.
He revealed that he is going to broach the conversation about his contract with the team early next week, and he said he hopes the Giants will “shoot me straight.”
“We have exit meetings, and I definitely will have
PETER SBLENDORIO, Page 39 that conversation with them,” Barkley said. “Probably would just be more, like — I feel like I handled this situation the best that I could. Obviously as a team leader, even as an individual with the ankle injury, it didn’t go the way I would want it to. But I feel like it would be the right thing to just shoot me straight. Let me know what it’s going to be, let me make my decision and move on from there.”
Barkley said something he’ll change in this round of negotiations with the Giants is that he’ll be more “proactive, especially with sources and stuff that comes out.”
He waited until last summer to combat leaks about contract offers that he had turned down by alluding to alleged hypocrisy from the Giants’ front office.
Barkley said he has not spoken to the Giants’ brass recently about his contract status outside of the team telling him they weren’t going to trade him at the NFL’s Oct. 31 trade deadline.
“I still feel like there’s a lot left in me,” Barkley said of what he has to offer to the Giants or the next team that signs him.
He plans to demonstrate that one more time Sunday at MetLife Stadium before the games stop and the business side of his career returns to center stage.
“This locker room and this team is going to be completely different next year,” Barkley said. “So [we’ll] cherish the moments and go out there and try to go off on a high note.”
Notes: Barkley also has been elected the winner of the 23rd annual George Young-Ernie Accorsi Media Good Guy Award by the Giants Chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America for his professionalism and availability during the 2023 season. Barkley narrowly edged out wide receiver Darius Slayton for the award. Slayton has finished second in two straight seasons … Punt returner Gunner Olszewski was named the NFC’s special teams player of the week for his 94-yard punt return for a touchdown in last Sunday’s loss to the Rams.
Giants injury report (projected for today’s walkthrough):Did not practice – S Jason Pinnock (toe), C John Michael Schmitz (shin). Limited: QB Tyrod Taylor (back), CB Deonte Banks (shoulder), LB Carter Coughlin (shoulder), CB Darnay Holmes (foot).
NFL players often are playing for bonuses or contract incentives in their regular-season finale regardless of whether their team is eliminated from the playoffs.
Here are some Giants players who can make some extra coin in Sunday’s Week 18 finale against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium:
Ward (four sacks) will earn a $250,000 bonus if he records one sack on Sunday to total five on the season. And he’ll earn another $250,000 if he reaches 60% defensive snaps played for the year. He’s at 57.8% right now. So that’s $500,000 on the line. If he somehow records three sacks against the Eagles, he’ll add another $250,000 to his bank account with seven sacks on the season for a total of $750,000.
Slayton has caught 45 passes for 708 yards entering the season finale, and he can turn both into payouts in Week 18. If he has five catches to reach 50 on the year, he’ll earn a $100,000 bonus. And he’ll earn another $100,000 if he has 42 receiving yards on Sunday to get to 750 total on the year. He’s also just 167 yards shy of an additional $250,000 incentive if he can get to 875 receiving yards this season.
Robinson has played 45.8% of the Giants’ defensive snaps this season. If he can play enough on Sunday to keep that number at 45%, he’ll receive a $333,333 bonus. He won’t get to 50%, which would have earned him another $333,333.
Breida has played 27% of the Giants’ offensive snaps this season. He will earn a $250,000 bonus if he reaches 30%, which is possible if he plays a lot against the Eagles.