Giants' Daniel Jones, Brian Daboll address Saquon Barkley absence

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones would probably prefer to celebrate his new contract rather than address running back Saquon Barkley skipping voluntary organized team activities. 

"I think that’s obviously Saquon’s business," Jones told reporters on Thursday, per Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "It is between him and the team. Obviously, Saquon is a close friend of mine and he has been a very important part of what we have done here and he’s a tremendous part of this offense. I hope they can get something done." 

Jones agreeing to a four-year contract that could be worth up to $160M in March allowed the Giants to retain Barkley's rights via the non-exclusive franchise tag that guarantees the 26-year-old roughly $10.091M for the 2023 season. Barkley has not yet signed the tag and, thus, isn’t permitted to practice with the team. The second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft also can't be fined for skipping future mandatory practice sessions. 

It's widely believed Barkley won't sign the tag before the July 17 deadline for teams to put pen to paper on long-term deals with tagged players. Giants general manager Joe Schoen appears willing to let Barkley choose between either playing on the tag later this year or forfeiting money by sitting games out. 

Jones added he speaks with Barkley "pretty regularly" but wouldn't divulge specifics about such conversations. Meanwhile, head coach Brian Daboll said he was "not going to get into details with any of the discussions we’ve had" with Barkley. 

"I think you build relationships in this business," Daboll continued. "There’s always a business side of things in this league. But again, those conversations will remain private. Everybody on your team goes through it at some point, but you build on those relationships and keep the discussions private."

Daboll joined the Giants in January 2022 and earned Coach of the Year honors after he guided the club to a playoff berth and a postseason victory in his first season with the organization. How he handles the contract standoff involving an offensive captain and his team's most marketable star will undeniably affect the vibes inside the locker room ahead of preseason action.