Saquon Barkley injured his ankle early in the season, but everything that has happened since then certainly hasn’t hurt his chances of staying with Giants in 2024.
General manager Joe Schoen credited Barkley as a “big reason” why the Giants were able to weather the storm when all looked lost with a broken offensive line, third-string rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito and a 2-8 record.
Barkley’s willingness to carry the load — averaging 19.4 touches per game since Daniel Jones was first injured — in the last year of his contract while knowing the mileage on his body could be used as negotiation leverage against him hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“As you’re going through adversity,” Schoen said during Monday’s bye-week news conference, “I think he’s a big part of keeping the locker room together. I respect Saquon a lot and the way he’s handled himself through this entire process.”
Schoen declined to address the futures of any unrestricted free agents.
The Giants could franchise tag Barkley for a second time ($12.1 million) or resume the extension talks that broke off last July with a final offer of about three years, $33 million (about $22 million guaranteed).
“We tried long and hard to get something done with him, and we’ll see what happens in the offseason,” Schoen said. “I know there were some questions a couple of weeks ago about still coming to work and the longevity and the tread on the tires. He comes to work every day. He does everything we ask. He’s a great teammate.”
Making Barkley unavailable at the trade deadline suggests the Giants still see him as part of their future.
He accounts for nearly twice as much total offense as any other player despite missing three games.
“He’s one of our most productive offensive players right now,” Schoen said. “To move that guy, it just didn’t make any sense. And we didn’t take any calls or receive any calls on him.”
In the absence of any comment from Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch since March, Schoen was left to answer whether he and head coach Brian Daboll feel supported.
The Giants have fired three straight head coaches during or after a second season.
“We have constant communication with the Mara family, the Tisch family, and articulate the plan. They’re on board with it,” Schoen said. “As much as it hurts to go through this, there are a lot of young players that are getting valuable experience. Another offseason, another draft, we will continue to build it.
“The communication is very helpful. The fact that John Mara is here on a daily basis, we can explain the ‘why’ we’re doing things, how we’re going to do them. They’re in the loop, and they’re on board.”
The NFL left Packers at Giants as the scheduled “Monday Night Football” game on Dec. 11 as Monday’s flex-scheduling deadline passed, a league source told The Post.
NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North previously mentioned that flexing Texans at Jets from Sunday afternoon into Monday was an option, but it seems the two-game winning streaks by the Giants and Packers ended the consideration.
