Saquon Barkley Trade Talks Were Never Held Despite Dolphins Rumors, Giants GM Says

It was reported this week that the New York Giants had received trade inquiries from teams around the league who were interested in star running back Saquon Barkley, but general manager Joe Schoen dispelled that notion on Wednesday.

Schoen told reporters that "he never had any discussion with teams about trading" Barkley before he signed his adjusted franchise tag to remain with the team for the 2023 season.

On Tuesday, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reported that the Miami Dolphins were among the teams that contacted the Giants for a deal for Barley but were turned down. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk also reported that New York had reached out to "a dozen teams in an effort to find a potential trade partner, back in the March/April time frame."

Whatever the case may have been, Barkley wound up ending months of contentiousness by agreeing to a one-year deal worth up to $11 million with a $2 million signing bonus.

Despite threatening to hold out after he didn't receive the long-term extension he was seeking, he reported for the start of training camp this week, providing New York with the certainty that its best offensive player is fully committed to playing the 2023 season.

Schoen added that he's "fired up" that the 26-year-old is present for the first practice of training camp. Giants head coach Brian Daboll said he considers Barkley to be "a good player and good leader for us and I'm glad he's in the building."

Barkley rushed for a career-high 1,312 yards with 10 touchdowns while adding 57 receptions for 338 yards last season. New York is surely hoping he can duplicate that level of production this year as the team tries to build off the momentum of its run to the divisional round of the playoffs.