(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Just weeks ago, it looked like star running back Saquon Barkley’s days with the New York Giants were coming to an end.
He was asking for a lucrative new contract, one the Giants didn’t want to give him, and it appeared he wouldn’t want to play on their franchise tag.
But he eventually agreed to a one-year pact, and thus he reported to training camp.
Per Jordan Raanan, Barkley has participated in each practice session during camp, and he hasn’t taken any time off.
Amazing but true: Saquon Barkley participated in all 19 camp practices. Didn’t take or ask for any vet days off.
Maybe a dozen #Giants got vet days throughout camp. Not Saquon, even after contract situation this offseason. His vet days were the preseason games, per Brian Daboll
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 25, 2023
For a team that lacks any Pro Bowl-caliber wide receivers or tight ends, Barkley is their offense.
After a few injury-plagued seasons, he put up 1,312 rushing yards, 338 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns in 2022 as the Giants exceeded just about everyone’s expectations.
With Barkley returning to the form he displayed early in his career, they won six of their first seven games, and in the playoffs, they upset the 13-4 Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round.
Keeping Barkley in the fold is absolutely essential to New York’s hopes of building a championship-caliber squad, especially after they handed out big new contracts to quarterback Daniel Jones and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence.
Making the playoffs is possible this season, but they will have to hold off the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the improved Dallas Cowboys — and that’s only in their own division.
Elsewhere, the Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints, and possibly the Carolina Panthers will look to make the playoffs and thus knock the Giants out of contention for a postseason spot.
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