What’s next for Saquon Barkley and the Giants in free agency?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants will not use the franchise label on Saquon Barkley for second consecutive Year, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, leaving the running back free to prove his worth as a free agent.

The franchise tag would have been worth $12.1 million.

The move sets in motion a likely departure from New York, where Barkley has said he would prefer to stay his entire career to create a legacy and have a post-playing career on par with players like Eli Manning and Michael Strahan. It now seems likely that the Giants will lose their best player with offensive skills, a huge risk considering the lack of All Pro-type players on the roster.

Still, Barkley wanted to avoid a second consecutive franchise tag. He would have meant playing out all four years of his rookie contract, a fifth-year option and two years under the franchise tag without ever becoming a true free agent.

The Giants insisted Barkley was not available at last season’s trade deadline. General manager Joe Schoen described the label as “a tool we have at our disposal” in his year-end press conference.

He left open the possibility of another return.

“They did it last year. I’m numb to it,” Barkley said of the franchise tag after the season. “I really don’t have any feelings towards that.”

Now, free agency is finally on the horizon after six seasons with the team that drafted him second overall out of Penn State in 2018. The Giants had a losing record in five of those six years.

When the idea that Barkley was about to hit free agency was recently presented to a source close to the running back, he was met with little more than eyeball emojis.

This is what they wanted. At least it gives Barkley options and will determine the two-time Pro Bowler’s value. There will be no more what ifs.

None of this completely rules out a return to the Giants. The most likely scenario for Barkley to return is that free agency doesn’t turn out as fruitful as expected and the Giants decide to match an offer (likely less than $10 million per season).

“They don’t see the value in paying a running back $10 million,” said a source who spoke with the Giants last week.

Barkley, 27, turned down a final deal last offseason that sources said offered about $23 million guaranteed. He made $10.1 million last year on a tight franchise tag and anything over $13 million guaranteed in a new contract will ultimately be for his financial benefit, in terms of money and guaranteed years.

The only problem is that the broker market has been depressed in recent years. It’s difficult for players in that position to get paid, especially after the Kansas City Chiefs He won a Super Bowl for the second straight year with a seventh-round pick as his leading running back.

An NFL general manager predicted to ESPN that Barkley would be in the $8 million per year range with a new contract in a difficult offseason for free agents. Another thought he would be closer to $10 million per season. That was the general sentiment of about a dozen executives, scouts and agents with experience in broker deals.

Only one agent suggested the $12-14 million per season range based on Barkley’s name value and the projection of what he could do on a better team with a more competent supporting cast. That would be more in line with the $24-25 million guaranteed that a source close to the situation believes they struck a deal with the Giants last year.

This year’s free agent running back class is loaded. You already have tastes of Henry Derrick, jose jacobs, Austin Ekeler and Tony Pollard. That will make this difficult for Barkley.

“I mean, there are some good names there… It’s a little bit of a saturated market,” Schoen said last week at the NFL scouting combine.

But it’s more than that for the Giants. This move, and Barkley’s likely departure, has more to do with the value of the position than anything else. Especially considering Barkley is 27 years old with a history of injuries and rushed for less than 1,000 yards last season.

When Schoen was asked directly last week whether the negotiations with Barkley were more about the running back’s market value or what he does for the team, the general manager didn’t hesitate.

“Pulling back the market value,” he said.

And the $12.1 million franchise tag is expected to be above market value.