No Franchise or Transition Tags for Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney

Saquon Barkley – © USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants have decided not to place the Franchise Tag on running back Saquon Barkley. The team also chose not to protect safety Xavier McKinney with either the Franchise or Transition tags, the latter having been rumored to be an option for McKinney.

The deadline to designate a Franchise or Transition Player was 4:00PM on Tuesday, March 5th. Placing the non-exclusive Franchise Tag on Barkley would have committed the team to paying him $12.1 million unless a new agreement was reached. But it would have deterred other teams from pursuing Barkley as the Giants would have maintained the right of first refusal on any contract offer. The Transition Tag would have committed the Giants to paying McKinney $13.9 million, but again would have provided the Giants with the right of first refusal.

Barring new deals, Barkley and McKinney will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agents when free agency begins on March 11th (teams cannot officially sign new players until March 13th).

Last offseason, the Giants also placed the non-exclusive Franchise Tag on Barkley, for what would have been a 1-year, $10.091 commitment. However, the team restructured that deal in July to $11 million, including a $2 million signing bonus.

Hampered by instability and poor play at quarterback and the offensive line, as well as another lower body injury, Barkley did not have the season hoped for in 2023. Barkley suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 2 and missed the next three games. Playing in a total of 14 contests, he finished the 2023 season with 247 carries for 962 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and six rushing touchdowns. He also caught 41 passes for 280 yards and four receiving touchdowns.

The Giants drafted Barkley with the #2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. In his six seasons with the Giants, he has broken the 1,000-yard rushing mark three times (2018, 2019, and 2022). Barkley has missed games due to injury in four seasons, including a high-ankle sprain in 2019 (three games), a torn ACL and meniscus in 2020 (14 games), another ankle injury in 2021 (four games), and the ankle sprain in 2023 (three games). The ankle injuries suffered in those three seasons also nagged him in other games he did play.

Barkley’s best season was clearly his rookie year. He became only the third rookie in NFL history to accrue 2,000 yards from scrimmage, breaking a slew of franchise records. He also was voted to the Pro Bowl and named “Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year,” “FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year,” and “Pro Football Writers of America Offensive Rookie of the Year.” As a rookie, Barkley started all 16 games, rushing 261 times for 1,307 yards (5.0 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 91 passes for 721 yards and four touchdowns. Barkley led the NFL with seven 40+ yard runs and six 50+ yard runs.

Barkley’s second best season was in 2022. He played with a tougher, more physical style and finished the season with a career-high 295 rushing attempts for 1,312 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns. He also caught a team-leading 57 passes for 338 yards. That year, Barkley played in every game, except for being a healthy scratch in the regular-season finale. He was voted to his second Pro Bowl.

In his four seasons with the Giants, McKinney has had two that stand out and where he played every game, 2021 and 2023. McKinney not only played in every contest in 2023, but he played every single defensive snap (1,128). He finished the season with 116 tackles (second-highest on the team), two tackles for losses, 0.5 sacks, one quarterback hit, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, three interceptions (team high), and 11 pass defenses (tied for team high).

The Giants drafted McKinney in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He missed 10 games in his rookie season with a fractured left foot that required surgery, playing in six contests with four starts. In 2021, McKinney had a breakout season. He played in all 17 games with 16 starts, and finished the season with 88 tackles, 10 pass defenses, and a team-high five interceptions (one of which he returned for a touchdown). McKinney saw nearly half his 2022 season wiped out due to an off-the-field ATV accident during the bye week that caused multiple fractures in his left hand, requiring surgery.