Giants' Saquon Barkley: 'I couldn’t see myself in another jersey'

New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley seemingly wouldn't hit free agency if he had his say on the matter. 

"No, I couldn’t see myself in another jersey," Barkley told Steve Serby of the New York Post for a piece published Thursday evening. "I just live in the moment and focus on day-to-day." 

Barkley is set to be out of contract following this season and after Giants first-year general manager Joe Schoen didn't sign the 25-year-old ahead of this past Monday's unofficial team deadline for such extensions. Per The Football Database website, Barkley emerged from the Giants' bye week third in the league with 968 total yards from scrimmage and 779 rushing yards. Thus far, the second overall pick from the 2018 NFL Draft has done well during the ongoing campaign to avoid the type of serious injury setbacks that have plagued him throughout his New York tenure. 

"At the end of the day, only thing I can do is go out there and play the game that I love," Barkley added during his comments, "and try to play at a high level." 

Earlier this month, Schoen told reporters the Giants would "like to keep him around here" when speaking about Barkley's future.

"I told him I’d like him to be here, and I think he’s in the same boat. We’ll see if we can work something out here at some point," Schoen remarked at that time.

While the 6-2 Giants were enjoying their midseason break, Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine predicted Big Blue will sign Barkley to a multi-year contract because "they aren't in a position to let him walk given how much he means to the offense." Schoen pointed out that "the franchise tag is a tool that we have and can utilize if we need to" regarding Barkley, but it's thought the front office may save that asset for quarterback Daniel Jones. 

The Giants host the 1-6-1 Houston Texans this Sunday.