Saquon Barkley rumors: Which teams could pursue Giants’ star RB in free agency?

Saquon Barkley (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Saquon Barkley has been forced to think about life potentially playing for an NFL team not named the New York Giants after the inability to come to terms on a long-term deal with general manager Joe Schoen. 

The 26-year-old was franchise tagged last season after turning down a $14 milion-plus annual offer from Big Blue, instead playing under a revised tag that paid him $11 million. 

That franchise tag is still very much an option for Schoen to pursue, though doing so would likely end all hopes of securing Barkley for the long-term. 

“I don’t think any player wants to get franchise-tagged,” Barkley said earlier this month. “Sometimes the franchise tag is a placeholder to be able to work on a deal later. In my case, it wasn’t last year. So if I got tagged again, I think I could give you a better answer or talk about my emotions at that time if it does happen.”

Barkley is projected to get another shorter-term deal that could range between $6.6 million and $11 million annually but with no resolution in sight, the two-time Pro Bowler realizes that 2024 could see him playing for a different team, as he discussed with Complex’s Zion Olojede. 

“It never crossed my mind until last year after I got tagged. Up until that moment, I really believe that I was gonna finish my career as a New York Giant,” Barkley said. “You know, that was a goal of mine. And that’s still in play. I have so much respect for the Mara family and the Tisch family and everyone in the Giants organization.

They know that but once you get to this point, you go to your contract negotiation and you go through the tag process, you realize how much of a business it is. And I remember vets always telling me this and you know I believed them, but you don’t really know something until you go through it. So could I see myself in another uniform? Yeah, it’s possible.”

Should Barkley hit the open market, there likely won’t be a…