Saquon Barkley's contract situation remains a hot topic
Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants runs the ball in the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The question posed to Giants coach Brian Daboll about Saquon Barkley’s contract situation wasn’t going to get a direct answer on Monday.
“I gotcha,” Daboll told the reporter during Monday’s Zoom call. “Yeah, we focus on the opponent we are playing, doing as well as we can do. That’s the stuff that we’re focused on as a coaching staff and the players.
“The business side of things, they’ll take care of themselves, but during the season we’re just locked into our opponent, doing what we need to do, practicing, preparing. That’s where all our focus is.”
Barkley’s situation will be closely watched and ultimately will be addressed.
But in this case, Daboll gave the most predictable Daboll answer.
As for Barkley, on Sunday he lamented another close loss.
“There were a lot of plays that were made and a lot of plays that were left on the table, including by myself,” Barkley said. “It sucks every time you lose a game like that. It’s the NFL. You have to learn from it. We have one more week, have to try to finish up strong.”
RT Phillips needs surgery
It was obvious during Sunday’s game against the Rams that right tackle Tyre Phillips suffered a significant injury in the first series of the fourth quarter. He had left the game in the first quarter but returned.
Phillips was carted from the field and will require surgery to repair a torn quadriceps tendon, according to the Giants.
Phillips’ final play of the season came on a 7-yard pass to tight end Daniel Bellinger.
“I thought he did good for not having played for a while,” Daboll said of Matt Peart, who replaced Phillips. “Came in and acquitted himself. Obviously, some plays that we’d like to have back, but did a nice job filling in for us.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
