The Giants have eagerly dished out cash this offseason, but that doesn’t mean Saquon Barkley will benefit from the spending spree. Speaking to reporters, Giants owner John Mara said an extension for the running back isn’t coming any time soon.
[RELATED: Giants Undecided On Saquon Barkley’s Fifth-Year Option]
“We’re not in any hurry to do that,” Mara said (via SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano on Twitter). “We fully expect him to be as good as new. … We hope he’s going to be a Giant for life. At the appropriate time, we’ll start those discussions.”
The former second-overall pick quickly established himself as one of the top running backs in the league, averaging 1,734.5 yards from scrimmage and 11.5 touchdowns per season through his first two years in the NFL. However, after missing a handful of games in 2019, Barkley was limited to only two games in 2020 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.
The 24-year-old is about to enter the final year of his four-year rookie contract, but he has an affordable fifth-year option that’s valued at only $7.2MM. Barkley is also eligible to sign an extension after having spent three years in the league. Despite the modest fifth-year salary, it isn’t guaranteed that the running back has his option picked up. Earlier this month, GM Dave Gettleman didn’t seem to commit one way or the other, hinting that health could be a concern.
The Giants may be dragging their feet with the fifth-year option (and the subsequent extension), but Mara still made it clear that he wants Barkley to spend the rest of his career in New York. This Giants are likely doing their due diligence before committing to any future deals with the star running back.
Been a huge bust
So is Darnold.
Nope!
But not Quentin Nelson. He will wear the gold jacket as Getty likes to say a top 5 pick should.
A guy being hurt for a handful of games then tearing his ACL doesn’t make him a “huge bust” especially after averaging 1,750 yards from scrimmage his first 2 years.
He was never the same after the 2019 high ankle sprain.
That special “first step” was no where to be seen later in ‘19, or on the two games we saw him in 2020.
Taking a RB #2 overall is bad but Barkley has been a solid player.
In the 1-1/2 out of the 3 seasons.
“The Giants have eagerly dished out cash this offseason,”
This is not a dig at you (the author of this article), but they’re going to be spending less money than last year because of the cap decreasing, no? Mara expressed this same sentiment in his press conference (paraphrasing, “I’m spending so much money so we better start winning”). He’s spending less money than last year while touting how much money he’s spending.
I don’t think it’s the right time to extend. Let’s see him go though a 17 game season. He is talented and has had no offensive line help but has proved durable. Where did Gallman sign?
Only the worst franchises draft RB’s in round 1.The 5th year option is a franchise killer.
The Seahawks and Patriots also drafted RBs in the first round the same year the Giants drafted Barkley but do go on.
Lol
Nice
Michel is easily replaceable and Penny is awful. Don’t take RBs in the 1st round kids.
Agree totally. I was being a bit “tongue and cheek”. Perhaps I should have said, that drafting a RB in round 1 (especially so high in round 1) is a boneheaded move.
Pats and Sony Michel: To both of our points, Michel will not get renewed in his 5th year. Bill had a terrible stretch in the draft (2017 & 2018) and is getting beat up over it.
And the Giants could have taken Nelson with the 2nd pick (future HOF), let Cleveland take Barkley at 4, and Gmen take Chubb in the early 2nd since they were right after Cleveland.
They need to see Barkley get through this season first. It’s bad to give up on your 2nd overall pick, especially one who started the way Barkley did and was such a core piece of the team. But it would be worse long term to hand out a mega deal to an injury risk. They might end up paying more for Barkley if he returns to form after this year than they would have before, but the extra reassurance on behalf of Barkley would be worth the money if it came down to it.
Duh why would they give a guy a huge money deal coming off of a serious injury? They need to see him play again before they fully invest