Agents address Giants' Saquon Barkley possibly sitting games out

Add one longtime NFL player agent to the list of knowledgeable people not buying that New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley will sit regular-season games out without a long-term contract. 

"I don’t know what it would do," the agent said about such a drastic step while speaking with Giants beat writer Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. "There’s nothing I could think of where [the Giants] would be more motivated. The upside of not signing the tag now is you get to not go to training camp. I’d have to be convinced by him that that’s a positive. If it is, that’s great."

That agent was responding to a Wednesday report that suggested Barkley could remain away from the Giants through at least their regular-season opener versus the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 10 if he and New York don't come to terms on a new deal by Monday's deadline for teams to sign franchise-tagged players. Fox Sports NFC East reporter Ralph Vacchiano later tweeted that "Saquon is not going to sit out the season," and Schwartz noted that the 26-year-old protesting his situation for an entire campaign "is highly unlikely." 

That doesn't, however, mean Barkley will sign the $10.091M tag next week and report to training camp on time. 

"You have to set a stage for next year," a second veteran player agent said about Barkley staying away from the team through much, if not all, of August. "You have to let them know this is not gonna be easy. You have to set a stage with a little bit of f--- you in it. Don’t make it so easy on ’em." 

Giants beat writer Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com isn't convinced Barkley will miss too much time come August considering the ball-carrier met with quarterback Daniel Jones and other teammates for workouts this offseason and as recently as during the ongoing summer break. 

"The temptation to join his teammates might be too great for (Barkley) when training camp and the countdown to the start of the season begins," Brookover wrote. 

It was reported Wednesday that the Giants previously offered Barkley a contract worth $13M per year and $26M over the deal's first two years. His camp apparently wanted something closer to $16M per year. 

Also on Wednesday, NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo (h/t Grant Gordon) said that Barkley "understands the running back marketplace and is not looking for a market-setting deal." The fact that Garafolo added that "Barkley and the Giants are no closer on a deal and had not spoken in the days leading up to this week" indicates general manager Joe Schoen is happy to wait and see if the 2018 first-round draft pick will give the club some sort of discount before Monday afternoon.