Giants star Saquon Barkley refuses to rule out sitting out the SEASON amid contract standoff

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley became the center of attention on Sunday when he confirmed that he would not be attending the team’s mandatory minicamp due to an inability to agree to a new contract.

Barkley was franchise tagged by New York to stop him from hitting the free agent market this offseason, but the two-time Pro Bowler has not yet signed the tender that would earn him $10.1million next season. 

The two sides have until July 17th to work out a new contract, but when asked about his optimism level when it came to reaching a long-term deal Barkley paused awkwardly, before saying ‘I don’t know really. I don’t know.’

‘I think they’re open to talking. I’m open to talking,’ Barkley added. ‘I think at the end of the day, if you really break it down and look at it as a whole, there is no rush. There is still time on the table to get to July 17.

‘July 17 is not tomorrow. It’s not in a week. That is how I look at it. Maybe that is the naïve way to look at it, I could be completely wrong. But for me, that’s how I look at it. I could be completely wrong. Hopefully. I trust in the Giants that we could get something done.’ 

The two-time Pro Bowler is yet to sign his franchise tag tender and is currently out of contract

He also stated that he has not ruled out the possibility of sitting out the season if the sides cannot agree on a contract.

‘That comes up in the conversation if something doesn’t get done by July 17,’ said Barkley, although he made sure to specify that it is not something he has given a large amount of thought just yet.

He would also go on to say, ‘At the end of the day, it’s all about respect. That is really what it is,’ in reference to the entire contract situation.

Barkley is coming off the best season of his career since his rookie year and recorded 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, while adding 338 receiving yards on 57 catches. 

Despite the stellar performance on his way to earning his way to the Pro Bowl Barkley has insisted he is not trying to reset the running back market.

This has not, however, stopped reports from circulating that he rejected both a $14 million offer and a $12.5 million deal from the team, largely due to disagreements over the guaranteed money and structure of the deals.

He ran for over 1,300 yards and recorded 10 touchdowns while putting together a stellar year

He would go on to state that he was upset by the stories of the alleged offers and the perception that he was being made out to look ‘greedy’ despite saying he wanted to be a Giant for life.

‘Me getting tagged, was I upset about it? Nobody wants to get tagged,’ Barkley said.

‘To sit here and say I was frustrated, I was mad, I was upset, what really got me upset was the stories that got leaked out and how misleading they were and how untruthful they were.’

‘I feel it was trying to paint a narrative of me, paint a picture of me that is not even true. Not even close to being the truth.’