Brian Daboll sidesteps Saquon Barkley questions at Giants mandatory minicamp
Brian Daboll was asked about Saquon Barkley’s contract negotiations and the running back’s absence from the Giants’ two-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, but the head coach did not have much interest in talking about it.
“Everything that I have to say about Saquon will be in private,” Daboll said at his pre-practice news conference.
With training camp starting at the end of July, Daboll was asked if he was planning on Barkley being a member of the Giants this season.
“I’m just planning for today, to have a good practice,” the head coach answered. "I’m just worried about today right now."
Is he worried the contract situation could become a distraction if Barkley does not report for camp?
“I’m just focused on today,” Daboll said.
Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Barkley expressed some frustration over the process and failure to reach a long-term contract agreement with the Giants.
“As I have previously stated, I’m not looking to set any contract records,” Barkley said. “I’m not demanding to be the highest-paid player at my position. I understand the market. My goal is just to be compensated respectfully based on my contributions to the team on the field and in the locker room. I’ve been in talks with the Giants throughout the offseason. If at some point there’s a deal that is fair to both sides on the table, I’ll be ready to sign.”
Barkley had rejected a $12 million per year offer during the 2022 bye week and then again when the Giants upped their offer slightly after the season, according to SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes. After Big Blue placed the franchise tag on the back – after coming to an extension with quarterback Daniel Jones – the club pulled any outstanding offers from the table.
The team and Barkley have until July 17 to work out a contract extension. If the two sides don’t reach an agreement in the next 34 days, the running back will play the 2023 season on a one-year, $10 million deal or continue to hold out and possibly skip the season, like what running back Le'Veon Bell did in 2018 when he missed the first 10 weeks with Pittsburgh.
The 26-year-old said Sunday that he was also frustrated with leaked stories coming out that have tried to “paint a picture of [him] that’s not even the truth.”
“The thing that I’m frustrated most about is that family business is family business and then sources come out and stories get leaked, and it didn’t come from me,” Barkley said.
“I’m mature enough to understand this is a business, this is the NFL side of it, and this is how it goes,” he added. “So me getting tagged, was I upset about it? No one wants to get tagged, but to sit here and say I was frustrated, I was mad, I was upset – what really got me upset was the stories that got leaked out and how misleading they were and how untruthful they were. I felt like it was trying to paint a narrative of me or paint a picture of me that’s not even the truth.”
