Barkley's representation "had conversations" with the Giants last week, and general manager Joe Schoen said the two sides will "circle up after the draft," Patricia Traina of SI.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Barkley was given the franchise tag by New York just before he was set to hit free agency, but he has yet to sign his franchise tender. As such, he hasn't participated in the team's team's offseason program and could potentially hold out if a long-term contract isn't agreed upon. The Giants took running back Eric Gray in the draft, but as a late fifth-round pick, it's unlikely that New York sees him as an immediate replacement for Barkley. There's a good chance that Barkley will suit up for the Giants this season, but there remains uncertainty about how far apart the team and the running back's representatives are on contract numbers.

Giants GM Joe Schoen said Thursday that nothing has changed between Barkley and the team, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

EDGE Analysis

Schoen implied that the team will focus more on veteran contracts -- namely Barkley's and DL Dexter Lawrence's -- after the conclusion of the NFL Draft next weekend. Barkley still hasn't signed his franchise tender and thus remains absent from the offseason program, but the Giants have until July 17 to work out a long-term contract. If nothing happens by then, Barkley can either sign the tender or hold out.

Barkley has not yet signed his franchise tag with the Giants and won't be eligible to participate in the start of offseason workouts Monday until he does so, Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record reports.

EDGE Analysis

New York applied the franchise tag to Barkley in early March, shortly after having signed Daniel Jones to his four-year extension, but Kim Jones of Newsdsay reports that the star running back isn't planning to sign his non-exclusive tender in time for the start of offseason activities. The move is a likely attempt at leverage on Barkley's part as he continues to attempt to negotiate a multi-year deal of his own. Barkley and the Giants have until July 17 to finalize a long-term contract, but if that deadline is missed both sides will be unable to re-open negotiations until after the end of the 2023 season.

The Giants placed their franchise tag on Barkley on Tuesday, ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Meanwhile, the Giants agreed to a four-year contract with Daniel Jones, freeing the tag up for Barkley. Under the terms of his non-exclusive franchise tender, the star running back is in line to make $10.09 million in 2023. This past season, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft logged 295 carries for 1,312 yards and 10 TDs, to go along with 57 catches for 338 yards in 16 games with New York.

Barkley rushed nine times for 61 yards and brought in two of three targets for 21 yards in the Giants' 38-7 divisional-round loss to the Eagles on Saturday night.

EDGE Analysis

Barkley's otherwise quiet night was highlighted by a 39-yard scamper on the Giants' only scoring drive, and his overall touches were limited by game script. The talented back finished a resurgent regular season with 1,312 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 295 carries while also bringing in 57 of 76 targets for 338 yards, and he didn't lose a fumble across 16 games. However, he logged just nine carries apiece in the Giants' two postseason contests, although he did score twice in the wild-card win over the Vikings. Barkley is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year, but given this season's results, there should certainly be interest in keeping him in the Big Apple.

Barkley carried the ball nine times for 53 yards and two touchdowns while catching five of six targets for 56 yards in Sunday's 31-24 wild-card win over the Vikings.

EDGE Analysis

While Daniel Jones wound up leading the Giants in both carries and rushing yards, Barkley made his touches on the ground count, scoring his team's first points on a 28-yard dash in the first quarter and then plunging into the end zone from two yards out in the fourth for what proved to be the winning touchdown. The star running back will now set his sights on the Eagles in the divisional round, a defense that held Barkley to only 48 scrimmage yards in their only meeting during the regular season.

Barkley (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Eagles, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Giants are locked in as the No. 6 seed for the NFC playoff regardless of the outcome of their game with the Eagles as well as the rest of this weekend's action, so head coach Brian Daboll has chosen to err on the side of caution by holding out his franchise running back with little at stake in the regular-season finale. Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell are the Giants' lone active running backs and will likely split the snaps to some extent.

Barkley said he plans to play in Sunday's game against the Eagles, unless head coach Brian Daboll prevents him from doing so, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.

EDGE Analysis

The catch is that Daboll may do just that, as the Giants are locked into the No. 6 seed and a likely wild-card matchup with Minnesota or San Francisco, depending on how those two teams fare in Week 18. There's no guarantee of Barkley playing more than a few snaps even if he gets the start this Sunday.

Barkley rushed 12 times for 58 yards and caught two of four targets for negative-5 yards in the Giants' Week 17 win over Indianapolis.

EDGE Analysis

Barkley led New York in carries, but he was outgained on the ground by quarterback Daniel Jones (11 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns) and No. 2 running back Matt Breida (nine carries for 59 yards). Most of Breida's production came in garbage time during the fourth quarter as Barkley logged only one carry during the period. The 53 total yards were Barkley's fewest since he totaled 48 yards in a limited role against Philadelphia in Week 14, but the context was entirely different against Indianapolis as New York notched a blowout win to gain a playoff spot for the first time since 2016. On another note, Barkley's modest production pushed him to 1,312 rushing yards on the campaign, surpassing his previous career high of 1,307 yards set during his rookie campaign. The Penn State's product's bounce-back year and the Giants' surprising success this season has New York set on committing to the Pro Bowl back beyond this campaign, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, and Barkley may get a chance to get some rest ahead of the postseason with the Giants having nothing to gain Week 18 against the Eagles.

Barkley carries the ball 14 times for 84 yards and a touchdown and caught eight of 10 targets for 49 yards in Saturday's 27-24 loss to the Vikings.

EDGE Analysis

The running back did everything he could to keep the Giants in the game, setting new season highs in catches and targets and tying things up at 24-24 with a 27-year TD run on fourth-and-2 with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter, only for Greg Joseph to boot a 61-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Barkley has topped 100 scrimmage yards in back-to-back games, a figure he's reached eight times in 15 contests, and he figures to be the focal point of the New York offense again in Week 17 against the Colts.