Conflicting reports emerge about Giants’ offer to Saquon Barkley

However, Giants beat writer and NFL columnist Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News later poured cold water on Rapoport’s update.

The Giants used the non-exclusive franchise tag to retain Barkley’s rights on March 7, the same day it was learned the club and Jones had agreed to a four-year contract that could be worth up to $160M. It’s since been widely reported that Barkley’s camp previously rejected a multi-year deal worth around $13M per year with incentives that could’ve increased the contract’s value to roughly $14M per season. 

Until Rapoport’s report, it was thought that Giants general manager Joe Schoen was happy to have Barkley play on the $10.091M franchise tender for 2023 unless the second overall pick from the 2018 NFL Draft gave the organization a hometown discount via a new contract. 

Barkley suggested this past Sunday he hasn’t dismissed sitting out a portion of the 2023 season if he doesn’t sign a long-term deal even though doing so would achieve nothing as it pertains to earning more money than what’s attached to the franchise tag for the upcoming campaign due to the July 17 deadline. Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown spoke with reporters Tuesday about the relationship involving the club and Barkley, one that seemingly has seen better days. 

“I think it’s one of those things where you look at the foundation of your relationship, and our foundation of our relationship with Saquon is one of not just trust, but honesty,” Brown said, per Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “It’s no different than being in a family. Family is going to disagree at some point, but the one thing that is at the crux of your relationship, there’s love there. I think Saquon knows how we feel about him and I think whether it’s said openly or behind closed doors, we’ve had multiple conversations with him and there are things we agree on and things we disagree on, but at the end of the day he knows how we feel about him and that’s something that’s not going to change.” 

Former agent and current CBS Sports NFL contracts and salary cap expert Joel Corry said last month he thought the Giants rescinding Barkley’s offer would be “an unusual step” in negotiations and would show the team is prepared for the 26-year-old to play on the franchise tag. By most accounts, Barkley’s representatives should run to accept an available proposal if it’s even similar to what’s been reported throughout the spring.