Giants open to placing franchise tag on Saquon Barkley again: 'That's a tool we have'
With Giants running back Saquon Barkley again headed for free agency, GM Joe Schoen indicated on Monday that they could place the franchise tag on him for a second consecutive season.
"Saquon and I will talk about that," Schoen told reporters during New York's end-of-season news conference. "That's a tool we have at our disposal. When we redid his deal before he came to camp, that wasn't taken out of that deal. It wasn't a 'hey, we'll do this, but there's no franchise tag.'
"That's an option we have on the table. We'll have those conversations. I'm not saying we will or we won't. A lot of those conversations will be had over the next month or so."
Barkley was miffed when the Giants tagged him after the 2022-23 season, and threatened to hold out and possibly miss regular season games.
However, the team reworked the contract last July 25, and Barkley reported to training camp on time.
The reworked deal paid Barkley roughly $11 million, and included a $2 million signing bonus -- giving him slightly more than the $10.1 million franchise tag would have.
Barkley, in his sixth season with the Giants after being selected out of Penn State No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, had another stellar campaign in 2023-24.
In 14 games, he rushed for 962 yards and six touchdowns. He also hauled in 41 catches for 280 yards and added four touchdowns through the air.
Speaking after Sunday's Week 18 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium, Barkley reflected on what could've been his final game as part of Big Blue.
"If it is my last game playing here ... it was a fun six years," Barkley said. "Made a lot of great memories. But it's not like the last time I'm ever playing football -- you know what I mean? So, like I said, I can control that. So I'm not letting my emotions -- if I knew that it would be my last game, I would probably feel a little different. But, like I said, I have no idea."
