Saquon Barkley expressed disappointment Thursday that he and the Giants couldn’t reach a long-term agreement before the July 17 deadline, noting it would be a “flat-out lie” if he didn’t state otherwise.
“I could sit here and lie to you and be like I wasn’t disappointed or I wasn’t this-and-that, but that would just be a flat-out lie, but I am mature enough to understand that it’s a business, understand that deals don’t get done every year, and specific to my position, we didn’t get a deal done,” the star Giants running back, 26, said Thursday from training camp.
“Me and my team felt like we were in good faith trying to get a deal done, the Giants felt like they were in good faith trying to get a deal done and that’s life sometimes when it comes to an agreement.”
Although Barkley and the Giants were unable to meet in the middle for a long-term deal, the former first-round pick agreed to a one-year contract Tuesday worth up to $11 million in incentives, sources told The Post.
Barkley then elaborated on his decision to report to training camp in lieu of a holdout, explaining he “followed my heart.”
“New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) hands off to New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) at training camp on July 26, 2023.
“I obviously heard what everyone was saying in the news, in social media, but I kind of just followed my heart, and then, you have to look at it as a business point, from a business view, and I felt like what’s the best thing I can do? Some people may agree or disagree with this, sit out or sit in, and I feel like for this year specifically, the best thing that I could do for myself would be coming back, going out there and playing the game that I love, playing for my teammates,” he said.
Barkley and the Giants are coming off a 9-7-1 regular season, along with the team’s first playoff appearance since 2016.
Barkley, who is entering his sixth season in New York, rushed for a career-high of 1,312 yards in 2022.