Dave Gettleman: Giants have to decide whether to pick up Saquon Barkley’s fifth year option

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Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman indicated today that it’s not a sure thing he’ll pick up the fifth-year option on running back Saquon Barkley‘s contract.

Despite Giants owner John Mara saying in January that he wants Barkley to be a Giant for a long time, Gettleman said today that Barkley’s recovery from a torn ACL remains an issue and the Giants will decide in the coming months whether to pick up the fifth-year option for the 2022 season.

“I think [his health] part of the discussion,” Gettleman said, via Yahoo Sports. “Obviously we’re gonna have to make a decision this spring whether we pick up his fifth-year option. But certainly, it’s unknown, and what you have to do is get your trainer and your doctors involved.”

After the Giants took him with the second overall pick in the draft, Barkley led the NFL in yards from scrimmage as a rookie in 2018. But his production declined in 2019, and in 2020 he was limited to just 34 yards on 19 carries before he was lost for the season.

Realistically, it is hard to believe Gettleman would pass up the fifth-year option on Barkley, given that both Gettleman and Mara have insisted that he is a major part of their plans going forward. But Gettleman says the decision has not yet been made.