Saquon Barkley set to be free agent as New York Giants opt against using franchise tag

Saquon Barkley looks set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career with the New York Giants reportedly opting against using the franchise tag on their star running back for a second season in a row.

Being tagged for the 2023 season irked Barkley, who felt the Giants were being disloyal by not pushing for a long-term commitment after he rushed for a career-high 1,312 rushing yards the previous season

The two-time Pro Bowler ultimately settled for an adjusted one-year deal for the 2023 season but it appears a new agreement couldn’t be reached with the Giants going forward, the team opting against using the franchise tag again, according to multiple reports, because of a cost of $12.1m.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen said at the NFL Scouting Combine last week: “We don’t want to do it [use the franchise tag]. In a perfect world, we don’t want to do that again.”

Schoen added that he’d met with Barkley’s new agent Ed Berry during the combine and expressed optimism about coming to an agreement with Barkley.

“I think we’ve all grown – Saquon, myself, the organisation – through the last 12, 13, 14 months,” Schoen said.

“Saquon may be in a different place now than he was then in terms of understanding the market and the business side of it. I’m looking forward to having those conversations with him.”