Barkley won’t get franchise tag for ’24
NEW YORK — The Giants did not franchise tag Saquon Barkley a second straight year before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. NFL deadline, meaning the former No. 2 overall running back may have played his final game with the team.
GM Joe Schoen also did not tag free safety Xavier Mckinney, who wants to stay in New York but told the Daily News that he didn’t want to be tagged. Now he has more time to negotiate an extension and the opportunity to hit the open market if he does not.
Barkley, 27, will be free to gauge his value on the open market for the first time in his career after six seasons with the franchise. The free agent negotiating window opens on Monday prior to the start of the new league year two days later, when deals can become official.
And while it’s still possible Barkley could return to the Giants after testing the waters, it’s more likely that he will be playing somewhere else in 2024.
Sources view the Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles as some primary potential suitors who have the resources, need and interest to possibly sign Barkley.
There is always the chance that
Barkley won’t find the value he is seeking on the open market due to an impressive and deep free agent running back class headed by the Titans’ Derrick Henry, the Chargers’ Austin Ekeler, Barkley and the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs.
But numerous evaluators in Indianapolis at last week’s NFL Combine voiced the opinion that they consider Barkley to be a dynamic back. Some would love to see a team use him in the Christian Mccaffrey mold, believing Barkley could serve in the same role.
So imagine Barkley lined up behind two-time MVP Lamar Jackson in Charm City, or paired with likely No. 1 overall QB pick Caleb Williams and top Bears receiver D.J. Moore in the Windy City.
Neither is far-fetched now. Barkley loves New York and the Giants, but he wants to win and be
compensated and deployed as a top offensive weapon. He understandably wants to be used more as a receiver in particular, a talent he believes was untapped recently in New York.
Schoen, meanwhile, is reticent to commit major money to a running back and is entering a pivotal third year in this regime’s build. They need to show progress.
The GM also is staring at a deep free agent RB market and an NFL Draft with some good value in the middle rounds.
Schoen mentioned Ekeler and two of his former Buffalo Bills draft picks as attractive available RBS: the Texans’ Devin Singletary and the Colts’ Zack Moss. Oregon’s Bucky Irving and USC’S Marshawn Lloyd, meanwhile, could be good fits as middle-round picks in April. The Giants like Lloyd, and Irving is a tantalizing player.