On the right, Sterling Shepard sat on a stool, talking about the end of his career with the Giants and relishing the chance to walk through the MetLife Stadium tunnel one last time this Sunday.
Left-hander Justin Pugh delayed his trip to the showers to consider whether he could make a third move with the Giants, who drafted him in the first round 11 years ago.
Shepard likely won't play in the NFL again after this weekend. Pugh might not either.
In the middle of these two veterans, Saquon Barkley stood in front of his locker with a black hooded sweatshirt covering the sides of his face. He wasn't thinking about the end of his playing days. He will join the NFL in 2024. Now that this difficult season for Barkley and the Giants is fortunately coming to an end, it's hard to imagine Barkley ever wearing that coveted No. 26 jersey again in the NFL. A franchise that once considered him the most super of superstars.
It's not like Barkley wants to leave or that the Giants have decided to move him. More precisely, it means that for the first time Mr Barclay has been able to say he wants a “fresh start”, which sounds more like a plan than negotiation rhetoric. More precisely, there will be less emotion this time around as the Giants realize the value of Barkley, who currently ranks 14th among NFL running backs with 916 yards rushing and is the centerpiece of their offense. I feel like I'm going to put it away. Ranked 30th in the league in points scored.
“Sitting here like I did last year and saying, 'I want to be a Giant for the rest of my life,' it's not going to help or hurt anything,” Barkley said in a candid press conference Wednesday with the media. Told. “So, I'll leave the rest to those people.”
Those players (primarily general manager Joe Schoen) were the first players in the game a year ago, when Barkley rushed for a career-high 1,312 yards in Shane's first season under Bryan Daboll's new regime, After staying healthy for the first time, he showed his hand. He thought that Barkley contributed significantly to the team's victories and helped increase his value in a severely depressed running back market.
The dance floor tango between the Giants and Barkley last year resulted in Barkley rejecting a two-year contract that guaranteed him $22 million to $23 million over two years. The Giants agreed to place him on a $10.1 million franchise tag and give him an additional $900,000 in incentives. It was really just an artificial sweetener. Even if he hits all the statistical benchmarks, he won't earn an extra dime unless the Giants make the playoffs.
Well, we all know how that turned out. Barkley has struggled to reach 1,000 rushing yards, with eight total touchdowns and just 39 receptions, not helped at all by quarterback confusion and behind a typically shaky offensive line. are playing. In addition, he was injured again, missing three games with an ankle injury. And in case you haven't noticed, the Giants won't advance to the playoffs as they would lose to the Eagles and finish with either 5-12 or 6-11.
Barkley has a record of 33 wins, 64 losses, one tie and one playoff win during his six-year stay with the Giants, but for the first time he can argue that he would have been better off playing elsewhere. anything else.
He's always been a great ambassador for the team and is a candidate for the Giants' Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, but his play on the field this season has helped him earn more money. Nothing happened. The wear and tear on his body is even greater, as he turns 27 on February 9th, an age where mileage is frowned upon and where he is entering his twilight years.
The Giants could again place the franchise tag on Barkley, which would cost him $12.1 million and against the salary cap. That feels like too much for this player at this point. There's probably a team out there willing to give him more than what the Giants are offering. But probably not that much.
“We know that if we're going to strike, we have to do it now,” he said. “This is probably my last chance to get a second contract.”
Barkley was drafted No. 2 overall in 2018 and won Offensive Rookie of the Year, but since then, there have been more struggles than redemption. His pride was hurt by the drama and final outcome of recent contract negotiations with the Giants. This trend is even more visible this time.
His goal is, and always will be, to be here when the situation changes. He talked about the “really, really tough times” some teams go through and acknowledged that's where the Giants were before and is still there.
“You'd be happy to be drafted here, and you'd want to be one of those players and be a part of the reason for that and be part of a team that makes that happen,” Barkley said.
That's all well and good, but that's probably not how this story ends.
