According to Adam Schefter, Giants running back Saquon Barkley won’t be signing his franchise tender before Monday’s start of the New York offseason program.

What does it mean?

James Kratch at ESNY:

The Giants hit Barkley with the tag in March after re-signing quarterback Daniel Jones. And they have since pulled the multi-year offer they gave Barkley before that. Barkley and the Giants have until July 17 to reach an extension deal, but that is very much in doubt. General manager Joe Schoen seems inclined to make Barkley play on the tag. And Barkley has already rejected several offers reported to be worth in the $12-13 million range annually.

Barkley will eventually have to sign the tag tender to ensure his $10.1 million salary for 2023. But the road to that point could be quite bumpy. The right business move for Barkley, assuming no long-term deal is reached, would be to spend the next five months training on his own (or with teammates off-campus) before rolling into town on the Tuesday before Week 1. But that approach would come with risks.

Barkley needs another big season to give himself another crack at a payday next spring. Does he best position himself for that by skipping the preseason? And could a holdout — even a permitted one — damage his reputation inside the building and with the fanbase?

Let’s hope this is not resolved amicably. The seeds of discord must be sewn in division rival soil. Turmoil and tumult!

Obviously the best-case scenario here for the Eagles is that the Barkley saga takes on a life of its own and becomes a distraction for the Giants, to the point where he holds out or they grossly overpay him. The Eagles had zero issues handling Saquon (and Daniel Jones) this past year, though it would be naive to think the Giants’ offense will remain stagnant in 2023 and beyond. We’ll see though. We gotta get Saquon to watch some film of the Terrell Owens thing from 15 years ago and follow that same path. Go Birds.