With the 2023 NFL season now complete, the New York Giants and star running back Saquon Barkley are back where they were for most of last offseason: in a cloud of uncertainty.
Giants Still Won’t Commit To Saquon Barkley As Future Piece
The former Penn State Nittany Lions star and 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is once again without a deal as free agency looms beginning March 13. Barkley, who played on a one-year franchise tender at just over $10 million last season is hoping to sign a long-term deal with more security.
Unfortunately for Barkley, that’s unlikely to happen in New York with the team recently announcing they’re going to let him test free agency. If he does stay in New York, it’s likely Barkley will once again be tendered at just over $12 million for the 2024 season.
But the beauty of the NFL is there are 32 teams, and all a player needs is for one to see value in him. Barkley’s biggest admirer doesn’t seem to be the New York Giants, but there should be other attractive offers for the dual-threat back, where the offenses would better utilize his offensive versatility and explosive potential.
Barkley To The L.A. Chargers Is A Possibility
With the Los Angeles Chargers bringing in former Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh — who’s fresh off leading the school to its first national title in 27 seasons — the belief is he’ll be looking to add an every-down back to the roster. Known for power running games in his offense, adding a player like Barkley to complement talented quarterback Justin Herbert would do wonders for the Chargers, who haven’t had a prolific back in some time.
With free agency looming and teams not wanting to get into trouble for tampering, there hasn’t been much dialogue, if any, yet. That still hasn’t stopped media outlets from speaking on the possibility of Barkley joining the Chargers.
In fact, the NFL Network’s Kay Adams didn’t waste any time asking Barkley about the rumors when she interviewed him in early February.
Adams ran with former Chargers quarterback and 1998 No. 2 overall pick Ryan Leaf’s comments that Barkley could be a top target of Harbaugh’s Chargers come March.
When asked about it that very thing Barkley had this to sa:.
“I’ve got nothing but respect for Coach Harbaugh. I’m a big fan of Justin Herbert. I think he’s one of the best quarterback in the NFL. But, hey, if the opportunity was able to present itself, definitely wouldn’t be against it.”
The team does have scatback, Austin Ekeler, who over the last three seasons has accounted for a total of 44 touchdowns (30 rushing and 14 receiving). That’s an average of nearly 15 paydirt touches per season, but, even with those numbers, Barkley is a better back, and a three-down back who’s more capable of shouldering the load in a Jim Harbaugh run-heavy offense.
Barkley Has Been A Star When Healthy With Giants
After a great rookie season in 2018, Barkley was hit by the injury bug, and some started labeling him injury-prone. After some rough stretches, he’s shaken that negative tag, and in the past two seasons he’s had over 540 carries for nearly 2,300 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.
He’s also been helpful in contributing to the passing game for an anemic Giants offense that hasn’t looked strong for a few seasons now.
In his six-year career Barkley has 288 receptions for over 2,000 yards and 12 more touchdowns. He’s also great at pass protection, which is a key to Harbaugh’s offense in the play action passing game. Being able to leave Barkley on the field on obvious passing downs will allow Harbaugh to keep defenses honest and guessing to a certain extent.
That’s a huge deal, as they’ll be looking to protect the aforementioned Herbert much better than he’s been thus far in his career.
Chargers Are Currently In Cap Purgatory: $40M Over
Currently $40 million over the salary cap, the Chargers will need to make some drastic cuts to begin their roster rebuild or reload. But with a few shrewd moves they’ll be able to add some solid pieces to their 2024 roster, and one of those could and should be Barkley, who needs a fresh start.
