Stephen A. Smith presses Giants to stop dragging their feet with Saquon Barkley - “Pay the man”
Saquon Barkley is the latest casualty in the nosediving running back value infecting the league in 2023. Over the past couple of seasons, analysts and fans alike have felt that running backs have gotten the short end of the stick with teams. Speaking on First Take, Stephen A. Smith called for an end to the Giants taking the cheap road on their star Saquon Barkley:
"I'm simply saying what Saquon Barkley has meant to this franchise. If you look at him now and you see at age 26, he still has a few years left in him where you believe he can beat what he's shown you. Pay the man."
The playbook is rather routine for teams at this stage. Essentially, teams often like to pay their running backs a rookie salary as long as possible and then, if they're on the plus side of 25 or 26, they either put them on the franchise tag or cut them outright if they're 28 or older.
Update: #Giants RB Saquon Barkley told the team he won’t report to mandatory minicamp.
He explains his reasoning here.
Barkley believes the NFL tagged Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard and himself to prevent them hitting FA and cap the salary at $10 million.
https://t.co/uR2lXRmBUm
It happened with Ezekiel Elliott, who is still 28 years old. It also happened with Dalvin Cook and now appears to be happening to the Giants running back. However, if the team decides to offer its running back a fresh new deal, it might take a full three to four years to win over the 26-year-old back.
By the end of the deal, some are fearing, the running back won't be able to maintain his health and a lot of gameplans will go to waste. As such, in keeping the running back on the franchise tag for a few years, the team can essentially cut and run at any offseason.
Josh Jacobs appears to endorse calls for league-wide boycott as Saquon Barkley holdout continues
Jacobs, who is also fighting the short end of the stick waiting at the end of his rookie deal, appeared to endorse a league-wide walkout at the position on Twitter in response to a segment on "I AM Athlete" in which the hosts discussed the idea.
At first, he posted a thinking emoji. He then made his position much more clear in responding to a fan, stating that fear has kept the conversation from taking place.
@spilltmydrink Nahh the conversation needs to be had mfs just scared to talk about it
"Nahh the conversation needs to be had mfs just scared to talk about it"
Since the comments, it appears that no actions have been taken to move on the sentiment, however. Will Saquon Barkley's unilateral holdout get the Giants to budge?
If any of the above quotes are used, please credit First Take and H/T Sportskeeda.