New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley are both enjoying career years. They are also both impending free agents.
General manager Joe Schoen has important decisions to make on each in the coming months and it would appear he’d like both Jones and Barkley to return.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Giants view Jones and Barkley as long-term pieces, and their intent is to sign each to new deals.
From @NFLGameDay: The #Giants want Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley back for 2023, while the #Commanders are starting QB Carson Wentz today. pic.twitter.com/NeSXLrUZbe
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 1, 2023
The Giants had previously discussed a contract extension with Barkley but the bye week talks led nowhere. Reports suggested the two sides weren’t even close to coming to an agreement.
“Saquon is a culture guy that fits into everything we’ve asked,” Schoen said in November. “He’s a captain and he’s a very good player at his position who’s having a very good season. So, he’s a guy obviously we’re going to do our due diligence on and we’d like to keep him around here, so we can get into contract extension talks.
Negotiations were tabled in order to avoid a distraction for the remainder of the season.
While the Giants did negotiate with Barkley at the time, no discussions were had with Jones. The team wanted to see more from their quarterback and he responded by playing well despite a less-than-stellar second-half record.
Jones is one of just three NFL quarterbacks with 3,000-plus passing yards and 600-plus rushing yards this season. He also has one of the highest adjusted completion percentages in the league, while all but eliminating the turnover issues that plagued him early in his career.
Jones, Barkley, and the Giants enter Week 17 with a chance to secure their first playoff appearance since 2016.
