Sit Out Season? Giants’ Saquon Barkley Addresses Potential Move

The Giants drew a line in the sand with Saquon Barkley earlier this week, and he’s clearly not happy about it.

Monday marked the final day for franchise-tagged players to work out long-term contracts with their respective teams. Barkley, much like fellow running backs Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard, did not land a new deal. So, at this point, the 26-year-old’s only option for the 2023 season is to play under the franchise tender, which pays a shade over $10 million.

That is, unless, Barkley chooses not to play at all in the upcoming campaign. And as the two-time Pro Bowl selection revealed on “The Money Matters” podcast, the drastic measure is something he’s considering.

“My leverage is I could say, ‘(Expletive) you’ to the Giants, I could say, ‘(Expletive) you’ to my teammates,” Barkley said, as transcribed by ESPN. “And be like, ‘You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won’t show up. I won’t play a down.’ And that’s a play I could use.

“Anybody (who) knows me, knows that’s not something I want to do. Is it something that’s crossed my mind? I never thought I would ever do that, but now I’m at a point where I’m like, ‘Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.’ Am I prepared to take it to this level? I don’t know.”

Barkley’s holdout is expected to begin next week when the Giants open training camp. But despite the threat, it’s tough to imagine the 2018 second overall pick sits out the entire upcoming season. Barkley is entering his prime and wasting a campaign could actually hurt him in the long run. It certainly didn’t work out for Le’Veon Bell when he staged a season-long holdout five years ago.

So, while Barkley understandably is miffed, it feels more likely than not we’ll see him on the football field this fall.