What Should the Giants Do About Saquon Barkley?

After this Sunday's loss at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, the Giants hold the seventh pick in the NFL draft. The expectations were high coming into this season, and it's safe to say New York has fallen way short of that pre-season benchmark. One of the more significant stories of New York's offseason was the future of star Running Back Saquon Barkley's Giants career. With his contract ending last offseason, the Giants and Barkley agreed on the franchise tag. Saquon's talent has been well renowned since he stepped on the field at Penn State, let alone the NFL. However, with contract negotiations again being on the table this offseason, is extending the RB even further the right decision?

Barkley has played on the tag this season, and his output, or lack thereof, has been concerning. On paper, the question ”Is he the same?" could very well be viable for spectators after the amount of injuries he has had. Barkley has played all 16 games of the season only twice in his career, albeit both seasons saw phenomenal results from him. However, since his tremendous rookie season, Saquon has seen a dip in some of his advanced statistics and that may be a cause for concern. His ability to break tackles has seemingly declined as his career has progressed. After breaking 30 tackles as a rookie, Barkley has failed to hit that number again and has had 27 in his last four seasons combined. This season, Barkley is averaging a career-low in yards per carry and has struggled behind a lackluster Offensive Line.

It was reported last year that Saquon was seeking near the 14 million-dollar-a-year mark for a contract extension. If that number remains consistent after what will be a down year, there will be pushback from the Giants front office. If the team views 2022 as an anomaly and feels the need to save and build progressively through a rebuild as initially intended, Barkley's Giant's future could be in serious doubt.

New York letting go of its leader and the primary catalyst for offensive production could create a massive rift in the locker room. Saquon has been a standout athlete on and off the field, regularly giving back to his community. He has also expressed his desire to continue playing for the Giants moving forward, even as recently as the past few weeks. A move of this magnitude is almost a wave of the white flag, which would take the goal of winning now and pushing it further down the line.

Ultimately, working out a deal moving forward would be in both sides' best interests. Despite talks being pushed to the offseason to prevent distractions, the star's future will remain questioned as this season winds down. If Barkley and the Giants can work out a short to mid-term deal in the 10-12 million mark with guarantees, it will be a positive result for both sides.