It was a long journey, but Saquon Barkley returned to the New York Giants on a new deal for 2023.
It’s only for a season, as the two sides attempt to hammer out a long-term contract in the meantime, but it’s a start for the Giants and their star running back. In the past, the former Penn State star has made it clear he doesn’t want to play for anyone else, even though some theorized he could be looking at moving this past offseason.
Evidently, that didn’t change throughout some rollercoaster negotiations, as Barkley explained over the weekend.
“Oh, yeah. I don’t think that really changed,’’ Barkley told Paul Schwartz of The New York Post regarding his wish to be with the Giants for life, via Pro Football Talk. “They know how I feel. I’m not really too focused on that right now.’’
Many thought Barkley could hold out and force the Giants’ hand at giving him a long-term contract, but that wasn’t in the plans for the running back.
“Once I made the decision I was going to show up and I was going to be there and do my job, you’ve got to put all that aside,’’ Barkley added. “Got to be mature about it.’’
Nevertheless, Barkley is still keeping tight-lipped regarding the situation as the season gets closer, and it looks like he’ll continue to be moving forward.
“I just felt the questions would continue to be about the tag or the money situation,’’ the Giants running back said. “It’s in the past. I can’t control that. I know I came out and tweeted ‘It is what it is’ and that’s what I truly felt at the moment.’’
That’s a smart way to go about things for Barkley. Things will need to be cordial if both sides want to continue their relationship, and it looks like that’s all good at the moment. Joe Schoen, the Giants’ general manager, elaborated on just that earlier this offseason, after Barkley agreed to return.
“Relationship’s good,” explained the Giants GM, via The Rich Eisen Show. “When we started negotiations, we started during the bye week. You know, brought him up to my office and just said, ‘Hey, you know you’ve been in the league for five years, you really haven’t been through this. This is the business part of it, and that’s exactly what this is. This is business. None of it is personal, and you just have to understand this is something you haven’t been through, and just always understand this is business and not personal.’ So anytime we talked throughout the process over the nine and a half months, you know I would remind him of that.
“Remember that, he understood it. He’s very mature. He’s a great teammate. We’re happy he’s here. We have a good relationship.”
Alas, it’s evident Saquon Barkley is essential to the Giants’ plans, and the two sides are both motivated to solidify their partnership long-term. Barkley may be on a one-year deal at the moment, but that can change in an instant, and it could happen as early as this season.
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