Saquon Barkley: If Not the Giants, Then Who?

The New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley failed to reach an agreement on a multiyear deal last season but will try running it back again in the next week at the combine when both sides are expected to sit down at the negotiating table to see if they can make Barkley's desire to be a Giant for life come true.

If that doesn't happen, there is a growing wave of opinion that the Giants, out of respect to Barkley, won't use the franchise tag on him a second year in a row and would instead allow him to survey his market around the league, with the understanding that any offers he receives, he'd give the Giants a chance to match.

Should that end up being the case, it's anyone's guess as to not only what Barkley's market value will be but what team(s) will have interest in the 27-year-old running back who nestled among his three 1,000-yard rushing seasons has also had a plethora of lower body injuries that have arguably taken a toll on his burst.

Recently, Draft Kings Network set the odds of where Barkley might land if he and the Giants don't strike a deal. And the top five favorites after the Giants, whose odds are listed at -150, are the Houston Texans (+275), Los Angeles Chargers (+400), Chicago Bears (+1600), Philadelphia Eagles (+1800) and Baltimore Ravens (+2200).

The Chargers would appear to be the team to watch. Former quarterback Ryan Leaf, who is friendly with new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, has gone on record on more than one occasion with the opinion that the Chargers would love to have Barkley in their offensive backfield.

Leaf reiterated that opinion on a recent BLEAV IN CHARGERS podcast appearance.

A guy that they're looking at is Saquon Barkley. Everybody jumped up and down around the idea of the cap situation. I get it. But if you talk to any general manager, you talk to anybody who's worked in the front office...cap issues...if you want to fix them, you fix it. You push it, you avoid years. You do whatever. You kick the can down the road to win a championship. So if they want to get their guy, and I think in Jim Harbaugh's offense, he would be incredibly valuable. It's going to cost more money unless you go get somebody like Blake Corum out of the draft, who is somebody he's very familiar with.

The Giants could still use the franchise tag again on Barkley if all else fails, a decision they'd have to make by March 5. If they do so, they could still permit Barkley to work out a new deal with another team while a trade is worked out.

That would probably make the most sense if the two sides can't get a deal done. If the Chargers are as gung-ho about adding Barkley to their backfield, surely with eight draft picks (including the fifth overall), they might be willing to part with at least one this year and perhaps a conditional pick next year.

But such a move by the Giants on their best offensive skill player last year might not be perceived favorably around the league, which is another consideration New York might need to consider in reaching a final decision.

Follow and like us on Facebook
Submit your questions for our mailbag
Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.
Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel