The New York Giants were one of the teams to watch in the lead-up to Tuesday afternoon’s franchise tag deadline, as the team needed to figure out what to do with both members of its starting backfield. Instead of needing to make a decision on whether starting quarterback Daniel Jones or starting running back Saquon Barkley would get tagged, reports indicate that a long-term deal with the former made it so that franchise tag could be applied to the latter.
According to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Giants and Jones were able to get a deal in just under the wire. Rapoport brought the financial terms of the deal, which is a 4-year contract that can make Jones up to $195 million.
It's going to be a 4-year deal worth $160M, sources say, with $35M more in upside. They are finalizing. https://t.co/MTWTE4JVRl
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2023
As for Barkley, he’s in line to make a hair over $10 million this season on the franchise tag.
Breaking: #Giants are placing the franchise tag on Pro Bowl RB Saquon Barkley, sources tell @theScore.
The tag will cost nearly $10.1M and comes on the heels of Barkley’s career-best 1,312 rushing yards and 10 TDs. The 26-year-old superstar was looking for a long-term deal. pic.twitter.com/40lHWQG3pO
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 7, 2023
While both players had up-and-down starts to their respective NFL careers, they each managed to have a productive 2023 season as the Giants made it to the postseason for the first time since 2016. New York finished 9-7-1, with Jones completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns, with an additional seven scores coming on the ground. Barkley, meanwhile, carried the ball 295 times for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also tied for the most receptions on the team with 57.
