New York, NY (PSF) — On Wednesday morning, Kim Jones of NewsDaySports reported via twitter that Saquon Barkley will not be signing the franchise tag and will not participate when the offseason program that begins April 17th. The report comes from the New York Giants beat writer so there no question about the legitimacy of the report, but it still comes as a shock to Giants fans.

The Giants decided to tag the running back on March 8th, the day of the tag deadline after a contract extension with quarterback Daniel Jones was agreed upon. The decision came right before the deadline and it was after reports of a new contract with Barkley and the Giants stalled, so to make sure Saquon is on the roster for another year they placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Saquon. The non-exclusive would have Saquon to earn $10.091 million, but other teams could try to sign him for a higher price in exchange for two first round picks. The Giants would be given a chance to respond and match the new price, but now with Saquon not even going to sign the tag, it leaves the Giants with very little options.

Saquon knows his worth, NFL fans and media are going to say that a running back shouldn’t be paid that much as they are easily replaceable. Also, Saquon has an injury history and may be a big risk. All solid arguments, but for an offense that relied on Saquon heavily and managed to have a winning season with a lack of talent on the roster the Giants need Saquon. It’s undeniable that even with the improvement Daniel Jones showed that 40 million a year for him is too much. Saquon when healthy is arguably the best running back in the league and a once in a lifetime talent. Rumors about Saquon contract talks were numbers around $12 million a year, not that expensive for a player of that caliber. Yes, Saquon has an injury history, but last season he was healthy and he’s healthy now.

This is a great concern for Giants front office and fans, the offseason has been great for them as they been upgrading the roster with solid players at positions that need it. With expectations to build upon a great season next year the Giants are going to need to find a way to retain Saquon Barkley.