Giants running back Saquon Barkley confirmed that his representatives and the team talked about a new contract during the bye week.
News of the contract talks first came out on Sunday morning in separate reports by NFL Network and ESPN. The two sides have tabled the talks until after the season ends after they didn’t come close in negotiations last week.
“We got into a little bit of conversation, but at the end of the day I put that in the past,” Barkley said after the Giants defeated the Houston Texans. “That was a bye week. … My mindset is to just focus on the rest of the season.”
The Giants running back was coming off a 153-yard performance against the Texans, marking the fourth time in his career he has had 150-plus yards in a game. Barkley has been one of the main reasons why the Giants have found themselves sitting at 7-2 this season and are a legitimate playoff contender out of the NFC East.
Barkley didn’t feel the initial talks signified that he would be locked up long-term by the Giants as a foregone conclusion.
“It is what it is. It happened,” Barkley said. “I’m just happy we were able to have the conversation. I know how they feel about me. They spoke really highly of me.”
The Giants back was asked if the front office brought up the conversation again before the end of the year, would he be open to having those talks. Barkley reiterated his desire to remain in New York.
“I mean I think I’ve kind of been vocal, before contracts was even brought up, about how I feel about this place,” Barkley said. “Will I want my legacy to be this place and I want to be a Giant for life. I’ve been vocal about that, so if the conversation is brought up again we’ll go from there.”
