Why aren’t the New York Giants using the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley?
During 2023, the Penn State graduate added 1,242 yards and 10 touchdowns from scrimmage despite only playing 14 games, and it was not enough for the Giants.
As the clock ticks down until the new NFL season, when free agency becomes concrete, one of the most valuable players on the block is running back Saquon Barkley, who finished his contract with the New York Giants and everything indicates that he will have to look for a new team.
According to a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Giants will not use the franchise tag on Barkley for the second consecutive year. With this, the running back will become a free agent.
During 2023, the Penn State graduate added 1,242 yards and 10 touchdowns from scrimmage despite only playing 14 games. Of his 247 carries, 51 gifted a new set of downs to the Giants.
If he leaves the Giants, Barkley will walk away as one of the best running backs in franchise history. His average yards per game (70.4) is the highest and total rushing yards (5,211) ranks fourth behind Tiki Barber (10,449), Rodney Hampton (6,897) and Joe Morris (5,296).
In addition to Barkley, the crop of free agents at the running back position is quite extensive. Among the players who find themselves out of contract are Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, Austin Ekelers, Ezekiel Elliott, Devin Singletary, D’Andre Swift and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
How much is the franchise tag worth for a running back?
When the NFL announced that the salary cap would be $255.4 million for the 2024 season, estimates were made about what each team that uses the franchise tag should pay.
In the case of running backs, the value of the exclusive tag is $11.95 million while the non-exclusive tag is $9.76 million.