NFL: Saquon Barkley must excel this season if he wants to stay with Giants

Saquon Barkley will rejoin the New York Giants in the next NFL season after spending the last three seasons recovering from injuries. He was seen training with other members this summer to prepare for the 2022 season which will start soon. The running back is set to fight for his place in the Giants if he wants to stay with them since his contract ends this year and an extension is still uncertain. Check out the top new bookmakers for betting on the NFL.

“I just want to be a versatile player and do whatever I can to help the team win,” Barkley said after Thursday’s training. “Whatever coach asks me to do, I’m going to go out there and try my best at it. Whatever I need to work on, continue to work on, and just evolve my game.”

Barkley was out last spring and summer since his right knee suffered from a torn ACL. He started to recover from the injury until he got another one last season. His left ankle was injured in a game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5.

Even with the recent accident, Barkley joined the training at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on day 2 of the training camp held last Thursday. He trained with the newly appointed Giants coach Brian Daboll.

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“You saw him coming out of Penn State. You see him running around here; he’s a pretty skilled player,” said Daboll. “So, our job is to figure out ways to use him, whether he did it last year or the year before, two years, in college.”

As the title holder of Offensive Rookie of the Year of the NFL 2018, Barkley will be coached not only by the head coach Daboll but also by offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. Through the training, he said he wants to be a better player, especially in the offense.

“That’s something I want to do, become an overall better player, and I think this offense is giving me the opportunity to do that, so, I’m thankful and blessed to have that,” Barkley said. “So, for me, I’ve just got to take advantage of it by getting in the facility taking extra meeting time and learning the playbook.”

The five-year contract

Barkley enters a five-year deal with New York back in 2018 as part of the rookie deal. His contract ends in 2022 and an extension is not yet certain. He must prove himself worthy of a spot this year if he wants to sign another deal with the team.

“I just want to show the Giants that the guy that they drafted is still here,” Barkley said on his inclusion in the 2018 draft as No. 2 overall.

The Giants have a new general manager who was not involved in the Barkley draft in 2018. Thus, even Barkley himself is uncertain if the Giants will renew the contract in the middle of the 2022 season. Even so, he will still work towards everything he can and hope nothing crazy happen.

“That’s a great question. Like I said, you can’t really focus about that stuff,” said Barkley. “Honestly, that stuff is in the air and I know coming into Year 5 and coming into the option year or whatever it’s called, something like that my thing is just, and I keep saying, if I keep taking care of the little things and God blessed me and nothing crazy happens, I think the rest will take care of itself.”