Saquon Barkley ‘changed his mind’ and reported to Giants camp

Saquon Barkley said he had an “epiphany,” after listening to NFL veterans in private conversations and the media, that he didn’t have much to gain by sitting out Giants training camp.

That’s why he signed the franchise tag one-year deal and reported after a nine-month negotiation that was headed towards a holdout.

“I had a mindset of what I was gonna do, but I changed my mind,” Barkley said Thursday.

Barkley said the “business view” of his decision presented a harsh reality:

“If I sat out this year,” he said, “and if the New York Football Giants … didn’t have a good record, do you think that’s gonna make another team in free agency or the Giants … be like, ‘Oh, we wanna give you $15 million dollars a year now?’ I don’t think that’s how it’s gonna work.”

[ Saquon Barkley supported by McCaffrey, Henry and other top RBs after failing to reach long-term deal with Giants ]

Barkley accepted that, unfortunately, his only recourse now is to play at a high level.

“Hopefully, God willing, I stay healthy so I can show them better than I can tell them,” he said.

The Giants’ running back wouldn’t specify the exact contract he turned down on July 17, which was his deadline to sign a long-term deal. But he said the franchise tag gave the Giants too much leverage, and he wasn’t able to achieve a “respectable” deal.

“One thing I’ve learned from this offseason, there’s a lot of sources and a lot of he-say, she-say,” he said, reiterating his frustration with leaks and public negotiating. “I said I wasn’t trying to set the running back market. I said I want something that is respectable… But that wasn’t able to get done. I’m here now. I’m happy. I’m glad to be back in the locker room with my teammates.”

Asked if he believed he received the respect he was looking for, Barkley said: “Yeah, I would say at the end I got respect from the Giants, because I was able to look Joe [Schoen] in his eyes, look [Brian Daboll] in his eyes, and obviously we didn’t come to an agreement, but we were able to put everything aside.”

Barkley wasn’t sugarcoating this as a feel-good story at all. He acknowledged his frustration with the entire negotiation.

[ Saquon Barkley supported by McCaffrey, Henry and other top RBs after failing to reach long-term deal with Giants ]

“I could sit here and lie to you and be like I wasn’t disappointed, but that would just be a flat-out lie,” he said. “But I am mature enough to know it’s a business. We didn’t get a deal done. Me and my team felt like we were in good faith trying to get a deal done. The Giants felt they were in good faith trying to get a deal done. And that’s life. Sometimes you don’t come to an agreement.”

Barkley was not asked directly about his relationship with Schoen or his desire to play in New York past this season. So there are still some unanswered questions about how this dynamic will play out.

He did stress, though, that his decision is about the present, and that the future is unknown — especially with the Giants holding the option of franchise tagging him again next offseason.

“I can’t see the future,” he said. “I wish I could. The only thing I can focus on is now. If a certain situation like this comes up again next year — which obviously everyone is aware that that can happen — then I’ll deal with that when it happens.”

He stressed that he’s “happy” for teammates Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas for getting long-term extensions, though, despite his situation.

He said he’s more concerned with how NFL-wide “there’s a lot of running backs out here that are pivotal, key points to teams having success in this league, and the way we are getting devalued, I think it’s not fair at all.”

Nevertheless, Barkley said that playing football is what he loves to do, and from a business standpoint, it’s the best thing for him and his family right now. He appeared to have a lighter load at practice on Thursday than Wednesday, though he was still a full participant.

“In the wise words of a lot of vets who reached out to me and said some stuff in the news media, when you show up, you can’t have that in your heart,” Barkley said. “It’s not a good thing. So I put all that aside and I’m focused on my teammates, everyone in that building and the fans, and [I’m going to] go out here and have a hell of a year.”

When the Giants signed Bobby Okereke to a four-year, $40 million free agent contract with $21.8 million guaranteed in March, the plan was for him to play weak-side linebacker, where he thrived in space for the Colts. But with the middle linebacker position thinned by injuries, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale began rotating Okereke to the inside on Thursday.

Second-year pro Darrian Beavers, who appears to be on a pitch count in his ACL recovery, lined up as the top middle linebacker at first. And when Beavers came off the field, Okereke shifted to the middle and Micah McFadden came on at weak side.

[ Giants LB Jarrad Davis will miss 2023 season after being place on injured reserve: reports ]

Okereke, who played the middle in Indianapolis at times, told the Daily News that he is willing to play wherever the Giants need him. He defends the pass well from the weak side position, and he can use his speed from that spot to track the ball from distance on runs. But he also admitted he likes playing the run from the inside, where he has a direct line to identifying and fitting gaps.

Improving the Giants’ run defense was an organizational priority this offseason, but top middle linebacker Jarrad Davis (knee) is out long-term after surgery, and the team’s two top free agent defensive tackle signings are on the sideline in A’Shawn Robinson (PUP) and Rakeem Nunez-Roches (concussion).

So keep an eye on middle linebacker for a possible free agent addition, and if not, it’s possible Okereke could turn into a jack-of-all-trades by necessity on the second level of Martindale’s defense.

Jones had some solid connections with Darren Waller, Darius Slayton, Cole Beasley and Parris Campbell on Thursday. A late crossing route to Slayton above the linebackers from left to right went for a big gain. Second-straight QB Tyrod Taylor hit wideout, Colin Johnson, down the left sideline against corner Darren Evans on a beautiful ball. And third-string QB Tommy DeVito dropped a dime to tight end Ryan Jones down the sideline, as well …

Jones overthrew an open Waller off his back foot on one throw and was intercepted by a diving Xavier McKinney, who got up and returned the ball about 30 yards. Adoree Jackson also jumped a short pass intended for Beasley and nearly picked it off in the left flat …

Slot corner Zyon Gilbert and outside corner Amani Oruwariye both picked off DeVito …

Rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt showed some of his speed running routes in both the individual and team periods. Hyatt encouragingly has gotten on the field with the first and second-string offenses after being buried on the depth chart in the spring …

Daboll had Ben Bredeson as the No. 1 center in Wednesday’s first practice, then rotated rookie John Michael Schmitz in with the ones on Thursday. He also went from Darnay Holmes to Cor’Dale Flott at slot corner, and Jason Pinnock to Dane Belton at strong safety, in a couple defensive position battles …

Wide receiver David Sills was not pleased after corner Rodarius Williams inadvertently blasted him to the turf in a late 7-on-7 period away from the ball. That was the second instance of what Daboll called “friendly fire” in two days. Safety Gervarrius Owens didn’t practice Thursday after colliding with corner Nick McCloud in the end zone on Wednesday. “I just had a meeting today where I showed a couple clips where I think we can do a little better job with taking care of one another,” Daboll said …

Wide receiver Darius Slayton had to leave practice to get his left ankle/foot taped after coming up lame on an incompletion, but he returned, made several catches and said he was fine afterward …

[ Odell Beckham Jr. thought about retirement after knee injury, viewing 2023 as his final season ]

Edge rusher Jihad Ward appeared to receive a vet day and didn’t do anything during the team period. Daboll admitted Waller, an important offseason acquisition with an injury history, is also a player the training staff is managing from a workload perspective. “Some of the players we want to have a good plan for as we go through training camp,” the coach said. “So whether that’s a little less reps, eventually a day off, however, it may be… Certainly he is one of those guys we have definitely talked about.” …

Three former Giants coaches were named among 12 finalists in the coach/contributor category for the 2024 Hall of Fame class: two-time Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin, and late coaches Dan Reeves and Marty Schottenheimer. In late August, one coach or contributor will be picked for final consideration …

The Giants signed XFL defensive tackle Kevin Atkins, who played for the St. Louis Battlehawks, to improve depth at a position that has been hit by injuries.