06 May 2023 , 12:23
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The New York Giants have given one of their players a huge contract extension - and it's not their offensive captain and leader Saquon Barkley.
It was recently announced that the Giants signed their defensive tackle Deter Lawrence to a big new deal - signing the disruptive interior lineman to a $90million, four-year deal. The defensive tackle has been a solid player since entering the league in 2020 from Clemson, but he took a huge step up this past season becoming a dominant player this past season.
It all points to a tricky situation when star man Barkley - franchise tagged this season - is out of contract at the end of the campaign and will either move on or command a big new deal. And Giants general manager Joe Schoen has provided an update on his situation, insisting the Giants want him to remain with the franchise for the long-term but must find a deal which works for them.
Schoen said: "Listen, Saquon is a very good football player, captain last year. He's a good locker room guy. I love him. We want him to be here.
"But you've got to have a deal where both parties are happy with where you end up. That's what we're going to try to work for and see if we can get something we can both agree on."
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The Giants have had limited cap space this off-season, which became slimmer after the team gave Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million deal - a huge risk for the team after the quarterback's one solid season. Jones became one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league after getting his deal in a huge show of trust to the 25-year-old.
Drafted with the sixth pick overall in 2019, Jones had not lived up to expectations in his first three seasons. But his fourth year was by far the best to date, having been paired with new head coach Brian Daboll, while his main offensive weapon, Barkley has yet to be given his extension.
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Saquon Barkley refused to sign a franchise tag and missed the Giants' offseason program (Getty)While suffering with injuries throughout his career to date, Barkley remains one of the best running backs in the NFL when healthy. He hugely elevated Jones' stock last season with a dominant year.
Coming into this season, the Giants had limited off-season cap space, with indications that they would target both Jones and Barkley for extensions.
After Jones extension though, the next Giant to be paid big-money is defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence - not Barkley.
After signing Jones, the Giants took the decision to franchise tag Barkley - meaning he must remain with the team this season. Barkley had the best year of his career, but now enters a contract year with teams reluctant to give running backs a second deal on a much higher salary.