It’s been widely reported that no running backs across the league were expected to receive franchise tags this offseason, and that included New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley as the team appeared set to allow him to become a free agent. But as it turns out, that might not be true, after all.
New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen spoke with Pro Football Talk on Tuesday morning that he was not ruling out the possibility of using the franchise tag on Barkley after the absolutely massive jump in the salary cap this offseason.
“We just talked to Giants G.M. Joe Schoen. He was pleasantly surprised to hear the cap was moving to $255.4M. He expected $243M. He did not rule out using the franchise tag on RB Saquon Barkley,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
We just talked to Giants G.M. Joe Scheon. He was pleasantly surprised to hear the cap was moving to $255.4M. He expected $243M. He did not rule out using the franchise tag on RB Saquon Barkley.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 27, 2024
It’s obviously pretty shocking news that the team is considering this, especially considering the franchise tag would be worth $12,109,200, and the NFL world had a lot to say about it on social media.
Shocker. Teams were hearing the same numbers we were hearing the past month. https://t.co/87zuYQw6Ah
— TexansCap (@TexansCap) February 27, 2024
That increase in salary cap legit made this offseason a fun one. Most underrated and under covered story of the NFL https://t.co/cchNMF06lg
— MahomesSZN (@ChiefsNations15) February 27, 2024
— Strawberry Moon (@thedebster24) February 27, 2024
That's an idle threat and nobody believes it. This isn't 2018 Saquon Barkley.
— Felt Football (@FeltFootball) February 27, 2024
they are being overpayed
— Sweet Milla (@SweetestMilla) February 27, 2024
Wild cuz a report just said they weren't gonna use the tag on him again n would try to work smthn out instead but 🤷🏽♂️ we'll see
— 😈💚J.E.🤍😈 (@panamaj21) February 27, 2024
Obviously, there’s still a chance the team does allow Barkley to become a free agent, but it’s certainly interesting that they’re considering using the tag on him.
