Running back Saquon Barkley is at training camp with the Giants after agreeing to a one-year contract that could pay him a bit more than he was due to make under the franchise tag and General Manager Joe Schoen said on Wednesday that he is “ecstatic” about having Barkley in the fold.
The Giants and Barkley agreed on a pact that gives Barkley a $2 million signing bonus and around $900,000 in incentives on top of the $10.1 million he would have made by signing the tag. The incentives are tied to Barkley’s performance and the team making the playoffs, which Schoen suggested is likelier with Barkley on hand when he said the Giants are a “better team” with the running back on hand.
Barkley and the Giants talked about a long-term deal, but Schoen said that both sides were unwilling to move off of certain demands and therefore “weren’t able to bridge the gap” ahead of this month’s deadline for a multi-year contract.
“We tried. They tried. I’m at peace with that,” Schoen said, via Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports.
Barkley’s new agreement with the Giants doesn’t preclude the team using another franchise tag, so the two sides could do this dance all over again next year.