Insider addresses Giants' Saquon Barkley possibly holding out into season

Yet another NFL insider isn't buying that New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley will forfeit guaranteed money by sitting out regular season games if his contract dispute continues into September. 

"By then, however, there won’t be much for him to accomplish," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio explained for a piece published Tuesday. "After July 17, the two sides can only do a one-year deal. Barkley could seek more than $10.1M for 2023. He also could request a commitment that the team won’t use the franchise tag again in 2024. The only limitation is that the deal would be one year in duration."

Barkley indicated earlier this month that he could hold out through training camp and into the regular season if he and the Giants don't come to terms on an agreement. However, individuals such as Florio, NFL reporter and analyst Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, Fox Sports NFC East reporter Ralph Vacchiano and others have essentially scoffed at Barkley's threat because he has no real leverage. 

Specifically, Vacchiano wrote last week that "multiple team sources have said the Giants are content to let Barkley play out the season on the tag" worth $10.091M for only one year. Also on Tuesday, NFL analyst Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report suggested that Barkley's well-known injury history coupled with the fact that he turns 27 years old next winter has the Giants reluctant to guarantee him any cash beyond the upcoming season. 

Similar to what Giants beat writer and NFL columnist Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News said last week, Florio believes that roughly $22.22M in guaranteed money -- the price of this year's franchise tag plus what it would cost the Giants to use the tag on Barkley next March -- should be a floor for negotiations between the parties. Such takes ignore that general manager Joe Schoen seems happy to treat Barkley like a short-term rental, in part to see if the 2018 first-round draft pick can stay healthy for another campaign. 

Florio mentioned that the franchise-tag system prevents Barkley and fellow running backs from making as much guaranteed cash as they'd earn on the open market. Barkley potentially losing millions of dollars won't change what Florio called "a frustrating and unfortunate" system for players, and that's why reporters think Barkley will show up to work with or without a new deal by Week 1.