If there was a poster made for Sunday’s Giants-Raiders game, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs would be featured.
They also are the poster boys for the devalued NFL running back market, as both stars failed to get multi-year extensions in the offseason and are playing on the one-year, $10.1 million franchise tag.
“With the tag, the Giants, the Raiders, they have leverage,” Barkley said. “Really wasn’t much that I could’ve done, or he could’ve done to be completely honest, but I’m happy that he was able to get something done and get back on the field. The NFL’s a better place when you’ve got a guy who’s that talented back on the field.”
Barkley and Jacobs handled their discontent in different ways.
Barkley showed up for the first day of training camp after the Giants added $900,000 in incentives to his contract.
He will not reach the necessary statistics due to three games missed with a high ankle sprain.
Jacobs held out until the end of August and secured an additional $1.7 million in per-game bonuses over his base salary.
“Two guys handling it two different ways,” Barkley said, “and came out in pretty similar scenarios.”
The Giants did not deal Barkley’s expiring contract at the trade deadline, which leaves open the possibility that the sides could reach a multi-year extension after the season.
Is that a recommitment to his future?
“No, I don’t see it that way,” Barkley said. “I never questioned how they view me as a player or what’s my value as a player. If I was able to hit the free-agent market, I think they would’ve handled things a little bit different, but that’s not the case.”
The two sides finished $1 to $2 million apart in negations last offseason but those final numbers might not be the starting point for resumption in January.
“I’ve never changed my opinion of me wanting to be a Giant for life,” Barkley said. “When I got drafted I had a mindset, I had a goal and a plan, so I would love for those things to happen, but after everything that happened during the offseason, and … seeing the business side of it, knowing that it’s rare for one player to be on a team for a long time.”
TE Darren Waller (hamstring) and QB Tyrod Taylor (rib cage) both were ruled out of Sunday’s game by head coach Brian Daboll. Both are candidates to go on injured reserve and miss the next four games.
DT Dexter Lawrence (rest day) joined Taylor and Waller in not practicing.
RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), RT Evan Neal (ankle), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (back) and LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring) were limited participants.
With Taylor out, Tommy DeVito, who completed 2-of-7 passes for -1 yards in his NFL debut last week, will back up quarterback Daniel Jones, per Daboll.
Veteran Matt Barkley, who was just signed to the practice squad, remains an insurance policy for now.
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