Giants' Saquon Barkley Says He Considered Sitting Out 2023 Season, Had an 'Epiphany' | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley explained Thursday why he decided to sign a new contract for the 2023 season rather than holding out.

According to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, Barkley said he considered sitting out into the regular season before reversing course, adding: "I had an epiphany. I had a mindset of what I wanted to do. I changed my mind."

Rather than signing his $10.091 million franchise tender, Barkley signed an adjusted one-year, $10.091 million tender with an extra $909,000 in incentives this week.

Last Monday was the deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign a long-term contract. The deadline came and went without Barkley, Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs or Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard receiving a deal.

While Pollard signed his franchise tender previously, Barkley and Jacobs did not, meaning they could have not shown up at training camp without getting fined.

Jacobs hasn't yet signed, nor has he reported to the Raiders, but Barkley chose to commit to playing for the Giants in 2023.

Aside from signing a revised, one-year deal, Barkley's options were to either sign the franchise tender or hold out.

Prior to the franchise deadline passing, Barkley said in an interview with The Money Matters podcast (h/t ESPN) that he was giving consideration to sitting out the 2023 campaign:

"My leverage is I could say, 'F--k you' to the Giants, I could say, 'F--k you' to my teammates. And be like, 'You want me to show you my worth? You want me to show you how valuable I am to the team? I won't show up. I won't play a down.' And that's a play I could use.

"Anybody [who] knows me, knows that's not something I want to do. Is it something that's crossed my mind? I never thought I would ever do that, but now I'm at a point where I'm like, 'Jesus, I might have to take it to this level.' Am I prepared to take it to this level? I don't know."

Barkley was the driving force behind the Giants' offensive success in 2022, as he bounced back from three consecutive injury-plagued season to rush for a career-high 1,312 yards, plus 10 touchdowns. He also caught 57 passes for 338 yards.

The Penn State product was named a Pro Bowler for the first time since his rookie year, and the Giants went 9-7-1 and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Barkley figures to be the centerpiece of the offense again in 2023, meaning he could position himself for a better contract with the G-Men or another team next offseason if he can stay healthy and put up huge numbers once again.