NFL Free Agency: New York Giants to place franchise tag on Saquon Barkley

It’s exhilarating every time Saquon Barkley is on the field. After beginning his career with the New York Giants, the former No. 2 overall pick will be sticking around the Big Apple for the time being, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Barkley is getting franchise tagged, according to Garafolo, keeping him with the Giants for at least one more season. The news comes shortly after it broke that the Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones agreed to a long-term deal.

Moreover, Saquon Barkley burst onto the scene in the NFL after accumulating 64 total touchdowns over three seasons at Penn State. He hit the ground running during his rookie season, amassing 1,307 rushing yards, 721 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns in 2018, on his way to capturing the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

Afterwards, the injuries began to pile up, as Barkley wouldn’t see the field as much as the Giants underwent multiple coaching changes. However, 2022 was a return to form for the star running back, as Brian Daboll came to New York and lit a fire under Barkley, who accumulated a career-high 1,312 rushing yards to go along with his ten rushing touchdowns.

He’s been voted a team captain over the last couple of seasons, along with being the constant on the Giants’ offense. In an age when running backs are being valued less and less, Barkley has continued to prove he’s worth a long-term deal.

Moving forward, it’s easy to see how Saquon Barkley can remain one of the top players in the entire NFL.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.