Reporter shares why Saquon Barkley unlikely to participate in spring workouts

It sounds like New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley won't be signing his franchise tag amid voluntary organized team activities. 

"He hasn’t even signed his franchise tag, which means he isn’t allowed to practice with the team at all," NFL reporter and analyst Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com wrote about Barkley for a piece published Wednesday. "It also means Barkley can’t be fined for skipping mandatory practices (like the June minicamp and training camp)." 

Giants general manager Joe Schoen used the non-exclusive franchise tag to retain Barkley's rights back in March, and Schoen appears happy to allow the 26-year-old to play on the $10.091M franchise tender for 2023 unless Barkley gives the Giants a discount before the July 17 deadline for teams to sign tagged players to long-term deals. 

It's believed Barkley has no existing offer on the table from the Giants after his camp reportedly rejected a multi-year contract worth around $13M per season that could've increased to $14M via incentives. One doesn't need to be an insider to realize the second overall pick from the 2018 NFL Draft is unhappy about being tagged. 

"Don’t expect to see Barkley this spring in East Rutherford," Slater said. "As long as he doesn’t sign the tag, he can skip training camp without fear of a fine. How ugly will this get?" 

Only Barkley can answer Slater's question, largely because the Giants don't need their RB1 around anytime soon. Barkley is already familiar with quarterback Daniel Jones and with the offense that head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka run. Truth be told, the Giants likely will keep Barkley out of preseason games so he's healthy for Week 1 regardless of his contract status. 

Perhaps former sports agent Joel Corry is right about Giants co-owner John Mara eventually insisting that Schoen work things out with Barkley before July 17. If not, Barkley may already be out of options regarding negotiations unless he hints he's willing to forfeit money by sitting games out starting with the Week 1 clash against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 10.