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Insider offers financial updates on Giants’ Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley
Insider offers financial updates on Giants' Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley,There's yet another sign the New York Giants are relatively close to holding onto quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley for at least the 2023 NFL season.

Insider offers financial updates on Giants’ Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley

There’s yet another sign the New York Giants are relatively close to holding onto quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley for at least the 2023 NFL season. 

On Thursday afternoon, NFC East insider Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports reported that “people on both sides still seem to think a long-term deal” between the Giants and Jones “is likely.” It was learned earlier this week that Jones changed agents and went from CAA to Athletes First, and a subsequent story said that the 25-year-old’s camp could be looking to secure a contract for “as much as $45 million per year.” 

One source presumably linked with the Giants told Vacchiano the club wants to sign Jones “at around $35 million per year.” A different source possibly close to Jones said he “sees his market value as being more in the $40 million-plus per-year range.” 

Using the franchise tag to retain Jones’ rights for 2023 would cost the Giants roughly $32.4 million in salary cap and cash. Vacchiano noted that the quarterback’s new agency knows “the Giants don’t want to tie up that much cap room in one player” ahead of the March 7 deadline for clubs to use their tags.

Vacchiano’s update followed a report from Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News that said earlier this week that “it still feels more likely than not that the Giants will get a contract extension done with their quarterback.” Assuming Vacchiano and Leonard are correct, Barkley’s status could become a formality.

Vacchiano responded to a previous story and wrote “some NFL people who know” Giants general manager Joe Schoen believe the executive won’t invest $14 million per year on any running back. That won’t matter if Schoen locks Jones down on a contract, as the franchise tag on a ball-carrier would cost around $10.1 million for 2023. Vacchiano referred to Schoen tagging Barkley as “a viable option.”

While the clock is slowly ticking toward March 7, there’s plenty of information available to suggest somebody within the Giants is leaking that Big Blue and Jones aren’t as far apart in negotiations as was feared at the start of the midweek. What’s becoming clear is that the Giants won’t overpay to keep Barkley and are seemingly saving the franchise tag for Jones just in case.