Free company must be wealthy with operating again expertise this offseason as a number of veterans are anticipated to hit the open market.
A kind of is Giants RB Saquon Barkley, and common supervisor Joe Schoen shared his ideas the previous No. 2 total decide.
“He is a captain. He is a frontrunner. He is a tough employee. I believe the world of Saquon and I nonetheless assume he can play. So, my worth for Saquon actually hasn’t modified.” Schoen informed reporters on the NFL Scouting Mix. “He is a man we might wish to have again. We’ll see if we will get one thing accomplished with him.”
New York shouldn’t be anticipated to make use of the franchise tag on Barkley, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, however the group is clearly nonetheless considering exploring a long-term take care of him.
The 27-year-old is coming off a little bit of an underwhelming season the place he rushed for 962 yards and 6 touchdowns whereas including 41 catches for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns receiving.
His 2023 season wasn’t unhealthy by any means, however it was actually a step down from his 2022 marketing campaign when he ran for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Based on Spotrac, Barkley is predicted to obtain a three-year, $29.9 million contract ($9.9M per yr) this offseason.
Whether or not that might be from the Giants stays to be seen, however when wholesome, Barkley remains to be probably the greatest operating backs within the league. If a group can get two-time Professional Bowler for lower than $10M a yr, that seems like a steal.
The operating again place has by no means been valued much less, which might assist New York in its contract negotiations. Nevertheless, Schoen is aware of the largest unknown is how a lot Barkley values himself.
“I am unable to predict what is going on to occur with the operating again market. We’ll have a greater really feel right here in a few weeks,” Schoen added. “There’s lots of uncertainty as you go into free company as a result of groups can re-sign their gamers.”
