Saquon Barkley Trade Rumors: Latest on Giants' Asking Price, Outside Interest

The official start of NFL free agency and the 2022 league year will kick off at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. While teams have been able to contact free agents and negotiate since Monday, nothing will become official until 4 p.m.

This is also when teams must be under the 2022 salary cap, which means a lot of dominoes are going to fall on Wednesday. Could a trade of New York Giants running back Saqion Barkley be one of them? It's entirely possible.

ESPN's Dan Graziano believes that the running back could be on his way out.

"More and more, I'm getting the sense that Saquon Barkley won't be on the Giants in 2022," Graziano wrote.

This isn't a surprising expectation, as new general manager Joe Schoen has been open about his willingness to move Barkley for the right price. The Giants have also reportedly been seeking offers for cornerback James Bradberry, but it seems few teams have shown interest.

"The Giants are still 'open' to trading Saquon Barkley and James Bradberry," Ralph Vacchiano of SNY wrote. "It just still doesn't look like they’d be able to get what they'd want in return for either one—at least not yet. In their continuing efforts to clear salary cap space, the Giants have talked with multiple teams about trading both players, according to multiple NFL sources, but so far, the market doesn't appear to be strong."

Asking price is likely the sticking point for teams with outside interest. Barkley has been hampered by injuries over the last two years, but he was a rookie Pro Bowler, and he rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons.

Barkley finished his inaugural campaign with 1,307 rushing yards, 721 receiving yards and 15 combined touchdowns. Teams will be interested if they believe the Penn State product can return to that level of production.

According to Jordan Schultz of The Game Day NFL, the Giants have priced Barkley as if they aren't eager to move him:

While Schoen may be hoping for a first-round pick, he may have to accept less to move Barkley. According to Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com, Barkley simply wouldn't command that on the trade market.

"The buzz at the combine was that Barkley could probably net a fourth-round pick in a trade, maybe a conditional pick to bump it up to a third based on playing time or performance-based incentives," Rosenblatt wrote. "It's unclear if that's changed—or if Schoen is more willing to accept less to clear Barkley's cap hit."

While Barkley has flashed his talent as a pro, his injuries are an obvious concern. Additionally, Barkley is in the final year of his rookie contract and wouldn't come with much team control. New York can ask for whatever it wants, but that doesn't mean teams will pony up.

New York may be in a financial bind, too—and others know it. The Giants are still $6.4 million over the sap, and something will have to give before Wednesday afternoon. If it's Barkley, the Giants appear likely to get back far less than they'd like for the 2018 second overall pick.