Saquon Barkley will play in 2023 for the New York Giants. This is not an article about a team bringing in a player. It is just a closure for a long drama that happened this offseason. The running back wanted a better contract and even considered not playing this season if the franchise chose not to pay him.
Luckily for everybody that likes the Giants, this is over. New York is giving him a one-year, $11 million deal and we will get the chance to see Barkley on the field. The RB received the franchise tag, which means he was locked away from new deals. However, reports say that the Miami Dolphins tried to sign him amid this impasse.
Barkley, 26, was not happy being tagged. He ran for a career-best 1,312 yards and scored 10 touchdowns last season. With these numbers, the RB helped the Giants (9-7-1) make the playoff for the first time since 2016. He also shared the team lead in receptions with 57. At the end of the year, he was selected to his second Pro Bowl.
The $11 million salary puts Saquon Barkley among the NFL’s highest-paid running backs. San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey ($16 million), New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara ($15 million), Tennessee’s Derrick Henry ($12.5 million) and Cleveland’s Nick Chubb ($12.2 million) are the top four earners among running backs in average annual salary.
Saquon Barkley
Although he is still young, Barkley is already a veteran in the league. He joined the NFL in 2018, after being drafted by the Giants with the No. 2 overall pick. Now he is going to play his sixth season in the league, all in New York.
So far in his career, Saquon Barkley played a total of 60 games. In this period he ran the ball 954 times, recording 4,249 yards and 29 touchdowns. Receiving passes he is also a great weapon. He has 247 catches in his career, totalling 1,820 yards and eight TDs.
