Former GM discusses Giants possibly using franchise tag on Saquon Barkley

Former NFL general manager Randy Mueller suggested in an article published by The Athletic on Friday that New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen should at least consider using the franchise tag to retain the rights to running back Saquon Barkley for 2024 even though doing so could cost the Giants roughly $12.1M for next season. 

"(The $12.1M) is not a crazy number if you did tag him, nor is it crazy if you sign him, I don’t think," Mueller said about Barkley. "He takes your offense above and beyond what is designed and planned. So coaches get more out of it than what they draw up. Again, my opinion. But that’s what makes him special." 

Barkley left no doubt in early January that he'd be less-than-pleased to be tagged for a second straight offseason, but the potential free-agent-to-be who turned 27 years old earlier this month has little say in the matter. He also hinted last summer he won't make good on any threat involving losing paychecks by sitting regular-season games out. While the Giants reportedly are willing to let Barkley test the open market in March, they also appear on track to give Daniel Jones one more chance to show he can be the club's long-term starting quarterback. 

Removing Jones' most talented weapon from his offense without finding an adequate replacement for Barkley this offseason seems like a waste of everybody's time, especially if rumblings about head coach Brian Daboll being on the hot seat heading into September are accurate. 

Meanwhile, The Athletic's Charlotte Carroll mentioned in the piece that the Giants "have about $22M in cap space right now but could extend that to more than $80M — though going that high seems unlikely — with restructured contracts and cuts." Additionally, James Brizuela of Fan Nation's Bleav website noted how former quarterback and current NFL analyst Ryan Leaf recently pointed out that "if you talk to any general manager, you talk to anybody who's worked in the front office...cap issues...if you want to fix them, you fix it." 

In short, Schoen can afford to use the franchise tag on Barkley by the March 5 deadline for such decisions. Whether or not the executive wants to utilize the tag as a placeholder ahead of future negotiations with Barkley's camp shall be seen assuming the two sides don't get a deal done over the next few weeks.