With trade deadline approaching, Giants’ Saquon Barkley says he doesn’t want to be moved
The Giants enter Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders with a 1-5 record, a far cry from their nine-win season a year ago.
And with the NFL trade deadline at the end of the month, the Giants may be sellers. While there are a lot of players who can be moved, Saquon Barkley may be the biggest chip New York has. The football world knows it, and Barkley certainly knows it, but he remains unfazed by the possibility.
Barkley was asked after Thursday's practice if he can “block out” the noise of possibly being traded. The former first-round pick said his focus is on what he can control.
“It’s not really blocking out; I can’t control that,” Barkley told the media. “It’s not like I’m able to make any decisions or have any say in that. The only thing that I have is the way I show up to work and the way I go out there and compete. That’s the things that I can control.”
The 26-year-old is in the final year of his contract, so it may be in the team’s best interest to trade him, especially if their record doesn’t improve by the Oct. 31 deadline.
New York has two more games before the deadline -- Sunday against the Commanders and Oct. 29 against the Jets -- so decisions will have to be made soon. Despite that, Barkley says the thought that he may not be a Giant for much longer hasn’t crossed his mind.
“I’ve been public and vocal about how I feel about this organization and where I want to be. But like I said, knowing the business and seeing that side of it, there are a lot of things that I can’t control,” he explained. “Sitting here, everyone knows how I feel. Everyone knows I don’t want to get traded. I don’t think anybody in their right mind would want to get traded anywhere.
“It’s not an easy thing to do. You’ve got to move, I have a family. I would love to be here but like I said, it’s not in my control. My focus is to be the leader I can be for this team to try to get this thing on the right track.”
Barkley says that there have been no conversations with the Giants on the organization’s plans for the deadline, and his focus is squarely on Sunday.
“I’m happy that I’m healthy again, be able to get back on the field,” he said. “Got close to a win last week now just got to try to continue to improve and try to get a win.”
The Giants, big underdogs to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6, came a play away from scoring one of the biggest upsets of the current NFL season. While their offensive woes continued, Barkley returned after missing three games with a high ankle sprain.
He’ll look to stay on the field and give his team the best chance to win this Sunday.
