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New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen couldn’t deny Wednesday that running back Saquon Barkley probably is unhappy about being franchise tagged ahead of free agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We tried to get a deal done with him and his representatives and we couldn\u2019t,” Schoen told reporters about Barkley, per Bob Brookover<\/a> of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “I think both parties knew at the end of the day that this was an option. If he\u2019s frustrated, I can understand some of that and we could be frustrated as well that we weren\u2019t able to get a deal done. I love Saquon, he\u2019s a good player and he\u2019s going to be a part of this team going forward and we\u2019ll see where it goes from here.”\u00a0<\/p>\n It had been widely reported throughout the winter that Schoen was saving the franchise tag in case he and the camp for quarterback Daniel Jones couldn’t get a deal done before Tuesday’s deadline for teams to use their tags. Once the Giants and Jones agreed<\/a> to a four-year contract in the 11th hour,<\/a> the team happily used the non-exclusive franchise tag worth around $10.1M in salary cap and cash to retain Barkley’s rights for 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n To compare, Ryan Dunleavy<\/a> of the New York Post noted that Barkley’s representatives rejected an offer “averaging about $12.5M per year” this past November.\u00a0<\/p>\n