New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley ended this season not knowing if he'd be playing for the only professional team he's ever played for next season. And while he might have been indifferent about returning when he spoke to reporters a day after the Giants' 2023 campaign ended, Barkley, who is set to hit free agency next month, has since reiterated that he hopes to be a Giant for life.
"I know how special the Giants organization is," Barkley told ESPN when asked why he wants to remain a Giant. "I have nothing but tremendous respect for the Tisch family and the Mara family. This is the team that drafted me. I'm a big believer in setting and accomplishing goals."
One of those goals was to win a championship with Big Blue.
"When I got drafted here, it was to be why the Giants was back on top and why we were having a parade in New York," said Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft. "It just hasn't gone that way so far in my career. Like I said before, I want to be a Giant for life. I mentioned that I want to be in the likes of Tiki [Barber], Michael [Strahan], Eli [Manning]."
While Barkley would like to finish his career as a Giant, the veteran understands the nature of the NFL and free agency. After going through a sometimes contentious contract negotiation with the Giants last off-season in which the stalemate was finally broken just before the players reported to training camp with Barkley signing a one-year modified franchise tag, Barkley knows things can change quickly, especially as a free agent.
"It's a business," Barkley said. "If this was my last season, I had a blast, but the beauty is, there's still a lot left in the tank. If I'm not a New York Giant next year and I'm somewhere else, they will get the leader. They're going to get a hard worker; they're going to get a competitor and someone who will compete at a high level to win football games."
Although the Giant's season was unsuccessful, on top of him not getting the multiyear contract he hoped for, Barkley says he never thought about sitting out.
"I've got a job to do," Barkley said. "I had a C on my chest for a reason. It's bigger than that. Obviously, the offseason didn't go the way we would've liked. I wasn't able to come away with a long-term deal. I put in a tweet, "It is what it is." So when I got there, it was to keep the main thing the main thing: to go out there and compete at a high level with my brothers."
More must-reads: