Saquon Barkley To Wait Until Offseason To Determine NFL Future

KEY POINTS

Saquon Barkley and the Giants shelve contract extension talks for now
Barkley is looking to join the list of highest-paid running backs in the offseason
The Giants could use the franchise tag on Barkley

Saquon Barkley is in the fifth and final year of his rookie-scale contract with the New York Giants, and there remains no clarity on what lies ahead for him.

While he has had a good season so far, a new contract may only come into play once the 2022-23 NFL season is over.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, there will be no more talks that will take place concerning the 25-year-old running back's deal until after the current NFL season.

Before this was reported by Schefter, the Giants and camp of Barkley held talks about a possible contract extension during Week Nine.

However, nothing came out of those talks and it appears a better picture of it will only happen once the offseason starts.

Of course, the Giants could resort to other things to retain the services of the second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. That includes possibly placing the franchise tag on the former Penn State Nittany Lions.

But as pointed out by NBC Sports, other things may prevent the Giants from doing so.

They reportedly have two candidates in mind, one of them being quarterback Daniel Jones.

Jones has played well for the Giants and has done his part in their 6-2 win-loss record this season.

He is set to hit free agency, but New York could decide to bring him back under the franchise tag.

As for Barkley, he has 163 carries for 779 yards and five touchdowns to go with 28 catches for 189 yards this season.

There is no doubt that continuing their working relationship is something the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and the Giants will be considering.

However, Barkley will also be looking at his financials, a reason why he would target becoming one of the highest-paid running backs in the NFL.

Among those who have lucrative deals at this point include Christian McAffrey, Alvin Kamara, Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry.

The Pro Bowl running back will be looking at something similar to the players mentioned once his current deal with the Giants lapses.