Giants give Jones 4-year, $160M deal, tag Barkley
EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. >> After days of hard-fought, down- to- the wire negotiating the New York Giants reached a new fouryear contract with quarterback Daniel Jones on Tuesday and put a franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley.
A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the Giants and agents for Jones reached the new deal with the franchise tag deadline minutes away. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t yet made the deal public.
With Jones under contract, the Giants used their franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley, the team announced.
Barkley’s tag is nonexclusive, which means he’s able to negotiate a contract with other teams in addition to the Giants. New York would have the right to match any team’s offer and also would receive two first-round draft picks if they decided not to match.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year that season would earn just over $10 million playing on the tag.
The deals came after Jones delivered a career season in leading the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Jones and his new agents had meetings with Giants general manager Joe Schoen at the NFL combine last week and continued to work over the past week to get the new contract in place.
The Giants had refused to pick up the fifth-year option on Jones’ rookie contract before the start of the 2022 season. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 15.
The No. 6 pick overall in the 2019 draft, Jones had his breakout season in leading New York to a 9-7-1 record. Working with new head coach Brian Daboll’s offense, Jones responded by throwing for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also added another dimension to the offense by running for a quarterback franchise record 708 yards and seven touchdowns.
Signing Jones allowed the Giants to tag Barkley, who also was an unrestricted free agent. Barkley had his best and healthiest season since 2018, rushing for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught 57 passes for 338 yards.
LAMAR JACKSON GETS NONEXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE TAG FROM RAVENS>>
The Baltimore Ravens put the nonexclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson on Tuesday, preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent this month but allowing him to negotiate with other teams.
The deadline for teams to apply the franchise tag was Tuesday. The Ravens were always expected to use it if they didn’t reach a long-term deal with Jackson first. The main question was whether they’d use the nonexclusive tag or the exclusive one.
Baltimore could have prevented Jackson from negotiating with anyone else by using the exclusive tag, but that could have cost significantly more. Instead, Jackson would make $32.4 million if he plays this season on the nonexclusive tag
efore that happens, Jackson and the Ravens can keep negotiating, and other teams can join in the bidding as well. Baltimore would have a chance to match any agreement between Jackson and another team, and if the Ravens chose not to match, they’d receive two firstround draft picks in return.
“There have been many instances across the league and in Baltimore when a player has been designated with the franchise tag and signed a long-term deal that same year,” general manager Eric Decosta said in a statement. “We will continue to negotiate in good faith with Lamar, and we are hopeful that we can strike a long-term deal that is fair to both Lamar and the Ravens. Our ultimate goal is to build a championship team with Lamar Jackson leading the way for many years to come.”