The Giants’ grand plan once called for Saquon Barkley to go right from a career in blue to slipping on a gold jacket at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The first six seasons of a Barkley-Giants marriage hasn’t gone as smoothly as either side anticipated, however. And now, for the first time, there legitimately could be the colors of another uniform in Barkley’s future as NFL free agency approaches.

Barkley doesn’t want to be restricted from reaching the free-agent market by a franchise tag for the second consecutive offseason, and the Giants don’t want to lose $12.1 million in salary-cap space by applying the tag before the March 5 deadline, so the number of possible resolutions to a prolonged contract stand-off are dwindling.

In the absence of the tag or a multi-year extension in place by March 11, Barkley will become a free agent for the first time in his career.