NFL writers discuss if Giants will franchise tag Saquon Barkley

Ahead of this past weekend, Charlotte Carroll and former NFL general manager Randy Mueller of The Athletic suggested that New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen can afford to use the franchise tag to retain the rights to star running back and team captain Saquon Barkley for a second straight year. 

Jordan Raanan of ESPN, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News and Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated all indicated that Schoen will allow Barkley to test free agency in March for pieces published on Monday. 

"This seems to be headed in a different direction this time around, even if the Giants say they want Barkley to return and he insists finishing his career in New York is his ultimate desire," Raanan noted. "But in a year when the free agent market will be flooded with running backs, it seems likely that Barkley will get a chance to test his value on the open market."

Specifically, Leonard mentioned that Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard are among the noteworthy veteran running backs who could join Barkley as free agents shortly after the two-week window for teams to use franchise tags closes on March 5. 

Leonard also pointed out that utilizing the tag worth roughly $12.1M for 2024 on Barkley "wouldn’t work for public relations and locker room reasons" after pass-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux somewhat controversially said in January he was "mad" the Giants signed quarterback Daniel Jones last March to a four-year contract that allowed the club to tag Barkley for 2023. 

"Thibodeaux's recent criticism of the Giants' move to pay quarterback Daniel Jones before Barkley reinforced some players' opinions on the team not rewarding one of its best players," Leonard said. "And it ratcheted up the pressure on Schoen to get the optics right this time."

Barkley's lengthy injury history, the fact that the 27-year-old's offensive numbers dipped in multiple categories this past season from the previous campaign and the reality that the Giants have numerous roster holes that could be filled with $12.1M of salary-cap space resulted in Manzano predicting that Schoen will instead save the tag for safety Xavier McKinney. 

According to Jared Schwartz of the New York Post, McKinney’s 87.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus for the 2023 season was the fourth-highest among players at the position. 

While at the site of the Senior Bowl earlier this winter, Schoen told reporters that "the plan is to circle up with (Barkley's) representatives when we get to the combine" next week. 

Unless Barkley instructs his camp to give the Giants a hometown discount, such talks between the two parties could essentially mean nothing assuming Schoen won't tag the running back before the March 5 deadline.