Saquon Barkley: "Epiphany" changed my mind about sitting out this year
Prior to the deadline to sign a multi-year deal this offseason, Giants running back Saquon Barkley said that the only real leverage he had after getting the franchise tag was to sit out the season and that he was mulling whether or not to do that if the two sides didn’t agree on a contract.
Barkley didn’t land a long-term deal and he won’t be sitting out after agreeing with the Giants on a revised one-year contract that offers him incentives above the $10.1 million salary attached to the tag. In his first press conference since agreeing to that deal, Barkley said that he was planning on sitting out the season before having an “epiphany” that led him to reverse course.
“I was. That’s a play that I had,” Barkley said, via SNY. “I’ll be completely honest — If I sat out this year and we didn’t have a good record, do you think that’s gonna make another team in free agency or the Giants want to have me come back the next year after I sat out a whole year? ‘We want to give you $15 million a year now.’ I don’t think that’s how it’s going to work. After having conversations and really breaking it down, you say the only way that I’m going to make a change or do something that’s gonna benefit for myself and my family is doing what I do best. That’s showing up, playing the game I love and do it at a high level.”
Barkley said it would be a “flat-out lie” if he said he wasn’t disappointed about how things played out and the lack of a provision barring the Giants from tagging him again means that the two sides could do another prolonged dance that ends without Barkley getting what he wants. That would leave Barkley with more decisions to make and epiphanies to find in 2024.
Source: NBC Sports
