Giants head coach gives cagey answer to Saquon Barkley contract questions

25 May 2023 , 19:23

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Saquon Barkley was the topic of questions directed towards New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll (Image: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has once again responded to questions surrounding the future of contract rebel Saquon Barkley.

Last month it emerged that Barkley had chosen not to sign on with a franchise tag with the Giants. After the deal which saw quarterback Daniel Jones handed a four-year extension worth $160m (£130m), it was later reported that Barkley was unhappy with the franchise tag offer and wanted a contract extension with the NFL team.

The Giants still have room in their cap to be able to agree to an extension with Barkley, but have so far opted not to do so. As a result of the running back not signing the $10.1m (£8.1m) franchise tag that was placed on him, Barkley was forced to miss out on the team’s off-season training program which began last month.

Daboll was speaking to reporters this week about how the organised team activities are going during the off-season program. In his opening remarks, the Giants head coach spoke about Barkley and how whatever was going to happen was between the player and the front office.

“We have really good attendance,” said Daboll. “There will be some guys working their rehab stuff, and throughout practice each of those guys are kind of at different stages. “Just trying to get them as healthy as we can. I'm not going to get into specifics of any of them.

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“I would say with Saquon, that situation is going to be between Saquon and the organization. I'm not going to get into detail of any of the discussions we've had.”

Saquon Barkley has not yet signed the franchise tag offered by the New York Giants (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Despite talking about Barkley at the start of the press conference, the Giants coach was still asked about his running back. When asked if he anticipates having Barkley back involved during the off-season, Daboll wouldn’t give too much away.

“I respect the question, but I'm not going to get into any talks about contracts, what could happen, about what could not happen, out of respect for the situation,” said Daboll.

Then, when asked if Barkley would be involved in next month’s mandatory minicamps, Daboll said: “I'm not going to get into any discussions about that.”

All players under contract must attend the mandatory minicamp, but that won’t be the case with Barkley if he hasn’t signed his franchise tag. Given it’s been more than a month since it was offered to the running back, time is not on the Giants’ side in that regard.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones also spoke to reporters on the same day as Daboll. And like his head coach, he was asked about Barkley’s future and how he sees the situation panning out going forward.

“That's obviously Saquon's business,” said Jones. “That's been him and the team. Obviously, Saquon is a close friend of mine, and he's been a very important part of what we've done here, and he's a tremendous part of this offense. I hope they can get something done. That's between them.”

Mark Wakefield