The New York Giants followed up on their retaining of quarterback Daniel Jones on Tuesday.
After agreeing to a four-year extension with Jones, the Giants reportedly used their franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. New York applying the non-exclusive tag — worth $10.1 million for 2023 — came just in time before the 4 p.m. ET. deadline for teams across the league.
Initially, Barkley was a threat to hit the open market, after playing under his fifth-year option from his rookie contract in 2022.
The Giants now have until July 15 to, like Jones, lock Barkley up to a long-term contract. Otherwise, the 26-year-old will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent in 2024. But for now, the Giants, who finished third in the NFC East last season, crossed off a few major bullet points on the agenda this offseason by keeping a pair of franchise cornerstones for next season.
The Penn State product broke out in the league in a dominant fashion. During Barkley’s rookie season, he totaled 1,312 rushing yards. But then he endured a series of injuries, such as his sprained ankle in 2019 and torn ACL in 2020, setting back the two-time Pro Bowler.
Last season, on the other hand, was a major jump for Barkley. He notched a new career-high with 1,312 rushing yards — which ranked fourth in the NFL — with 10 touchdowns and one fumble through 16 games played.
This ultimately made tagging Barkley a no-brainer for a Giants team fresh off a divisional round loss following five consecutive playoff misses.
