Giants and Saquon Barkley heading in the wrong direction at deadline

The New York Giants have until 4 p.m. EST today to agree on a long-term contract extension for the upcoming 2023 season. Since franchise tagging their star player back in February, the Giants have struggled to negotiate with Barkley throughout the course of this offseason. With under eight hours to go until the deadline, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan is reporting that neither side seems overly optimistic that a deal will get done.

Giants and Saquon Barkley heading in the wrong direction at the deadline

According to Raanan, there is “lots of work to be done in order to get to the finish line.” This news comes in lieu of North Jersey’s Art Stapleton reporting that a league source texted him that Barkley will be “taking whatever is on the table at 3:59:59.”

Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post writes that he expects the two sides to talk today before the deadline. He also adds that Barkley and the Giants “haven’t even done much talking last few weeks.”

While many believe that Barkley will cave at the deadline and sign the best offer on the table, the possibility of a deal not being reached remains strong.

Barkley was one of three running backs tagged this offseason. The other two backs, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard, will both play the upcoming season on the franchise tag after failing to agree to extensions with their respective teams.

Former Giants tight end Evan Engram was franchise tagged by the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason after a career year with his new team in 2022. Engram and the Jaguars agreed to a three-year $41.25M deal on Sunday. Barkley could land a very similar contract with New York ahead of the deadline.

The clock is ticking for Barkley and the Giants to agree on a long-term contract extension. If a deal cannot get done ahead of the deadline, the possibility of a holdout remains strong. With only a few hours to go, the two sides will need to make headway with productive negotiations this afternoon to get a deal done.