Giants Will Not Use Franchise Tag on Saquon Barkley
For weeks we've heard rumors that the New York Giants won't use the franchise tag on running back Saquon Barkley, only to be told by general manager Joe Schoen that no decision has been made and that the tag, while something he didn't want to use every year, was still ont he table.
Then we hear rumors of the Giants considering the use of the transition tag on safety Xavier McKinney to ensure they have an opportunity to match whatever offer he might receive on the open market.
We now have part of the answer as the NFL Network is reporting that the Giants will not be using the franchise tag on Barkley, making him a pure free agent for the first time in his career.
It's unclear if the Giants and Barkley have a handshake agreement where he will bring any offer he might receive on the market back to the team to match. Regardless, in not using the franchise tag, that now makes the chances of a reunion between Barkey and the team 50-50 at best.
Attention now turns to McKinney and whether the Giants will use the $13.815 million transition tag on the player, which would allow McKinney to test the market but also give the Giants five days to match any offer he receives.
The Giants are projected to have$38,288,933 in total cap space and $29,691,666 ineffective space (space needed to fit players under the Top 51 cap hits, the rule of which begins March 13.)
The Giants have until 4:00 p.m. ET today to decide on a tag for the 24-year-old McKinney.
