Analyst criticizes Giants' Saquon Barkley for handling of contract situation
Retired quarterback and current NFL analyst Chris Simms is the latest member of the football community to criticize New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley regarding Barkley's handling of his contract situation.
Simms recently told Giants beat writer Paul Schwartz of the New York Post that Barkley is having "the toughest conversation in the sport right now" about how running backs are valued by franchises after the 26-year-old's camp reportedly rejected a multi-year deal that was worth around $13M per campaign and included incentives earlier this offseason.
"You say no, they’re going to start moving other things around, figuring out other things for the team," Simms said about that career-altering decision, "and then the guy comes back and is like, 'I’ll take that deal.' Well, it’s a different scenario now, we just gave out $50M to other people."
The Giants spent the first couple of months of 2023 negotiating with both Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones until they signed Jones to what could be a four-year contract and then used the non-exclusive franchise tag to retain Barkley's rights on March 7. Giants general manager Joe Schoen has since rescinded the offer previously presented to Barkley and sounds willing to let the 2018 first-round draft pick play later this year on the $10.091M franchise tender.
There's zero sign Barkley and the Giants are close to coming to terms on a deal with the July 17 deadline for teams to sign tagged players approaching. Some fans understandably have wondered if Barkley, who hasn't yet signed the franchise tag, could remain away from the club through the start of regular-season play in September, but he may have silenced such chatter when he sported a Giants helmet for his latest workout post shared on Instagram:
"I hope they can find the sweet spot of paying him, maybe making the number a little lower on the salary cap and keeping him around," Simms added about the relationship between the Giants and Barkley. "I just look at him — he’s a Giant. He’s got the Giant way about him. I think he’s a special person and player. I hope they can make something work out a little more long-term than one year."
Unless Schoen experiences a change of heart or Giants co-owner John Mara forces the executive to sign the fan-favorite, it seems Barkley will have to give his employer some type of discount to guarantee himself money beyond what he'll make for the 2023 season on the franchise tag.
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