Giants' Saquon Barkley addresses Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor situations

New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley reached out to fellow ball-carrier Josh Jacobs after Jacobs reported to the Las Vegas Raiders ahead of the start of regular-season play. 

"I saw he showed up to camp and I texted him congratulations and good luck," Barkley said about Jacobs during a chat with Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.   

Both Barkley and Jacobs failed to receive long-term contracts ahead of the summer deadline for teams to sign franchise-tagged players to such deals. Barkley ultimately showed up to the start of training camp on time and signed what is essentially an adjusted one-year tag worth up to $11M. Jacobs, meanwhile, remained away from the Raiders throughout training camp and the preseason until he put pen to paper on a one-year, $12M contract over this past weekend. 

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, neither Barkley nor Jacobs received guarantees they won't be tagged again next March. 

As for Jonathan Taylor, the Indianapolis Colts running back is entering the final campaign of his rookie contract and didn't hide this offseason he wanted financial guarantees beyond the upcoming season. Taylor didn't receive a desired trade before Tuesday's roster-cut deadline and is set to miss at least the opening four games of the season while on the physically unable to perform list.

"I know Jonathan Taylor is one of the best players in the league, obviously had a down year last year with some injuries, but he showed when he’s healthy what he’s able to do and what he’s able to bring to an offense," Barkley added while speaking with Schwartz. "Hopefully, the trade is able to go through and he’s able to go to a team that respects him and values him." 

The Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers reportedly explored moves for Taylor and presumably could re-enter talks with the Colts regarding his services before the fall trade deadline. Taylor, Barkley and Jacobs nevertheless all learned difficult lessons this summer about how teams currently value veteran running backs in a hard salary-cap system that isn't changing anytime soon.