Today is the final day for the Giants to decide if they feel like playing tag.
This could possibly affect two of their players, running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney, neither of whom want any part of the designation.
The deadline to apply the franchise or transition tag on players is Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The Giants have been negotiating with representatives for both Barkley and McKinney and there is a clear and present danger that neither player will come to a long-term contract agreement before the deadline.
This is the first time down this road for McKinney, who wants to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid players at his position.
This is the second go-round for Barkley, who has stated time and again he wants to remain with the Giants but the money must be right and coming to a consensus on his worth will be challenging and could send him into free agency.
Heading into this, the Giants had no real appetite for tagging Barkley again.
A year ago, they were coming off a winning season, including a playoff victory, and Barkley was coming off a season in which he remained healthy and ran for a career-high 1,312 yards.
There was a sense that continuity was important.
To that end, Barkley was hit with the franchise tag of $10.1 million but he did not end up playing on the tag, as a one-year contract for that same money was worked out, with $900,000 in incentives — based on the Giants making the playoffs and Barkley reaching career-best numbers — added to the deal.
Needless to say, Barkley did not see a dime of those incentives and essentially played for the franchise tag.
Barkley, 27, is now a year older, with increased wear and tear on his body, the Giants are coming off a losing season, he did not remain healthy and ran for only 962 yards.
He did not help himself, as far as future earnings potential.
General manager Joe Schoen last week at the NFL Scouting Combine said, “Saquon may be in a different place now than he was then in terms of understanding the market and the business side of it.”
If Barkley is not in a “different place now” as far as what he is looking to get paid, a deal will not get done.
The Giants opened this process uninterested in applying a second tag on Barkley — this one would pay him $12.1 million for the 2024 season.
Schoen has a good relationship with Barkley’s agent, Ed Berry from CAA, who is heading the contract talks this year. Maybe that helps but, ultimately, money talks.
If the Giants put the franchise tag on McKinney it would cost $16.2 million for the 2024 season. They went into the process contemplating the transition tag for McKinney, which would be for $13.9 million, with McKinney hitting free agency.
The Giants would have the right to match any offer McKinney gets, essentially allowing another team to set his market value. If the Giants declined to match the offer sheet, they would not receive any compensation in return. That tag is still being considered by the Giants.
There is a strong desire to keep McKinney, who is only 24 and entering his prime. He played every snap on defense in 2023 and Schoen has said that Shane Bowen, the new defensive coordinator, places high value on safeties.
The Giants know McKinney will fetch a big contract on the open market but it seems they do not want to go any higher than $16 million a year for him.
It remains to be seen how the expanded league salary cap total of $255.4 million per team — more than $10 million higher than the Giants anticipated — will come into play with Barkley or McKinney. The feeling last week in Indianapolis was the increase could help sweeten the pot a bit for McKinney.
Schoen said Barkley’s many off-field attributes — his leadership traits and standing in the community — make him someone the team wants to commit to long term.
“That’s why you go to a player like that and you try to extend him and you stretch and stretch and you stretch,’’ Schoen said. There is a limit to how far the Giants will stretch, though.
If the franchise or transition tag is used, the Giants can continue to work toward a long-term deal with the tagged player.
Without Barkley, the Giants need a new starting running back. Without McKinney, the Giants need a new starting safety. They would like to keep both of them. Odds are, they won’t.