Maybe if he were a different player, we might look at what’s to come with a little more jaded of an eye. Maybe if he were a different person, we might warn ourselves: let’s be on guard for some pique, or pouting, or petulance.

But we have seen Saquon Barkley play professional football for five years now. And we have seen how Barkley has chosen to live his life, both on and off the field. And with that as our testimony, there is only one conclusion to draw:

If there is any lingering, sedimentary resentment or anger for the way these contract negotiations with the Giants went — a saga that ended early Tuesday when the Giants and Barkley agreed to a one-year, $11 million deal with a $2 million signing bonus — those things will remain buried deep inside Barkley, and will never be seen publicly. That’s who Barkley has always been. That’s who he is. 

Barkley’s immediate presence at training camp means that one potential daily distraction — his absence — is off the table as the Giants begin to prepare for their season opener against the Cowboys Sept. 10. It means that the program Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll have put in place will be allowed to sail smoothly, from Day 1, without the perpetual cloud of Barkley’s status hovering above everything. 

The Giants recaptured the hearts of their fans last season by buying into Daboll’s no-nonsense, no-excuses, ultra-professional narrative and living that splendid mantra every Sunday across all 20 weeks, from the opening surprise in Nashville to the closing disappointment in Philadelphia. After such an extended tour of the football wilderness under the previous administration, it was a five-month joyride that has allowed the faithful to spend every day since Jan. 21 looking forward to what the new season might bring.  

And Barkley was one huge reason why. 

Yes, Daniel Jones had a breakout season, and was rewarded for that by receiving a four-year, $160 million deal, a transaction that shadow-boxed the Barkley talks and provided a stark declaration of how much more valued quarterbacks are than running backs in the NFL in 2023, a conversation that is being conducted, uncomfortably, throughout all precincts of the league.  

But one essential point about this, as Giants fans know better than anyone: the version of Jones that the Giants committed to — the one that shined brightest last year — is the one that has Barkley as his wingman, and his chief foxhole guy. Together they are potentially as dangerous a 1-2 punch as there is anywhere in football. Without Barkley, maybe Jones could figure it out solo. But was that really an experiment anyone — specifically Daboll — wanted to conduct?

Barkley rushed for a career-high 1,312 yards last year. If his level of production as a receiver — 57 catches, 338 yards — didn’t match the staggering totals of his rookie year (when he gained 2,028 total yards from scrimmage), the threat of him as a Jones target is every bit as dangerous, and every bit as useful. And together the Jones-Barkley duo made the Giants’ offense look genuinely professional for the first time in years.

It probably explains why this was one of the most unusual holdouts ever, in this sense: public sentiment, at least among Giants fans, was overwhelmingly in Barkley’s favor. That almost never happens, regardless of how popular a player may be. Even in 2023, public instinct is to usually believe the players are the greedy ones. Not this time. Not with Barkley. That’s how much he means to the team. And how deep an impression he’s made on the fan base. 

Among the cognoscenti who judge such things, of course, it is widely believed that the Giants’ brass won this showdown, and they probably did. Maybe that’ll rankle Barkley. The possibility — or likelihood — looms that he’ll be franchised again next year. That won’t sit well either, and shouldn’t. 

But unless something fundamental has changed, we won’t see that anywhere in Saquon Barkley’s demeanor or his approach. He’s going back to work, and he takes the “work” part awfully seriously. The football pundits think the Giants’ suits won this? Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. 

But the fans here are the biggest winners. And that’s a nice change of pace.