Former MVP shares why Saquon Barkley should leave Giants

Former quarterback Ryan Leaf recently generated headlines when he suggested that new Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh could target New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley assuming the Giants let Barkley reach free agency next month.  

One-time Most Valuable Player and current CBS Sports NFL analyst Boomer Esiason believes Barkley should do whatever possible to force his way to Los Angeles this offseason. 

"If I were Saquon Barkley, if I can go to the Chargers right now under Jim Harbaugh and (quarterback) Justin Herbert, I would try my damnedest to get there, especially if they’re gonna pay me the contract I want," Esiason said during Monday's edition of the WFAN "Boomer and Gio" show, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "If I were him, I would want to get the hell out of New York. I would be totally sick of it already." 

Barkley's camp reportedly rejected multiple contract offers from the fall of 2022 up until his rights for 2023 were retained via the franchise tag. 

Giants general manager Joe Schoen said last week that "the plan is to circle up with" Barkley's representatives at the scouting combine later this month, but it's unclear what type of deal the veteran of six NFL seasons is looking to receive from either New York or a different club. 

The deadline for teams to use their franchise tags is March 5. Tagging Barkley a second time would cost the Giants roughly $12.1M for 2024 if the two sides didn't agree to an extension ahead of training camp. 

"Money’s gonna be a big part of this whole thing," Esiason added. "If you’re the Giants, you could protect yourself and tag and trade him I guess … but I kind of feel like it’s over for him there. I want it to be over for him." 

Barkley theoretically could respond to being tagged a second time by threatening to sit regular-season games out without a multi-year contract. 

However, he failed to go through with such a plan last summer, and comments about wanting to be "a Giant for life" suggest he wouldn't want to negatively impact his reputation among fans who wouldn't feel sorry for somebody making over $12M in guaranteed money for one season.