Would Cowboys Consider Pursuing Giants RB Saquon Barkley in Free Agency?

Would Cowboys Consider Pursuing Giants RB Saquon Barkley in Free Agency?

In a recent article, our colleague Mike Fisher of Cowboys Country speculated that if the Giants are unable to come to an agreement with running back Saquon Barkley, the running back might become a free agent and sign with the Dallas Cowboys.

But hold on for a moment. Tony Pollard, who like Barkley was handed the franchise tag last season, signed it without much fanfare because he was coming off a season-ending injury. The Cowboys already have one running back to contend with in Barkley.

Fisher is now discussing whether it makes sense for the Cowboys to sign Barkley “as a player superior Pollard” or whether keeping Pollard in the lineup makes more sense considering his “fit” in the system and in the locker room.”

Fisher’s judgement? We think Barkley is “better” than Pollard in a vacuum. Perhaps after the playoffs, people’s perceptions of Pollard—a great player and guy—will shift.”

The Giants can put the franchise tag on Barkley once more before anyone loses their appetite at the prospect of the running back possibly wearing the star on his helmet come season.

It would be a shocking development if the Giants decided not to use the franchise tag on Barkley this season, unless a multiyear deal is completed before the franchise tag deadline closes on March 5.

Does it make sense for the Giants to spend $12.419 in cap space—the approximate cost of the 2024 franchise tender for running backs—on Barkley when they currently have $15,110,328 in effective cap space and $22,943,875 in total cap space as of this writing?

Not precisely. This year, things are significantly different from last year, when the Giants were happy to just sit back and absorb the cost of Barkley’s franchise tag.

First off, the Giants were enjoying a terrific season that culminated in their first postseason appearance since 2016. But the Giants’ poor 6-11 record this season revealed some serious roster gaps that need to be filled if this team is to advance.

The Giants also need to be far more frugal with their financial resources and how they allocate them given the cap space issue (sure, more can and will be generated, but we digress).

If a settlement is not achieved before the deadline for tagging, the most likely course of action is to use the tag to buy extra time. But if Barkley and the Giants can’t come to an agreement on a new contract at some point, say prior to the draft, the Giants would be smart to consider making a trade for the running back, who still has some excellent football left in him.

Cowboys supporters hoping to see Barkley grace The Star with his presence should start dreaming of something else if a “tag and trade” occurs.

That is unless the Cowboys, who, by the way, currently have an even worse cap situation than the Giants–Dallas is in the red in both effective cap space ($21,194,322) and total cap space ($16,091,660)– were willing to give up a small king’s ransom in a tag-and-trade scenario to help them clear the money they’d need to potentially fit Barkley under their cap.

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