Saquon Barkley Shows Up To Rangers-Islanders Proudly Wearing Giants Jersey

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If running back Saquon Barkley is planning to leave the Giants this offseason, he sent mixed messages Sunday afternoon. The New York Rangers and Islanders are competing in the NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium. 

Barkley showed up to watch the game with some of his teammates and all of them donned Giants jerseys. Barkley also posted on X, indicating that the NHL might have just created a new fan. 

Several New York Jets attended also, alongside the Giants players. 

Interestingly, none of those three Giants players – Barkley, Sterling Shepard, and Tommy DeVito – are guaranteed to be with New York next year. Yet, they all showed up wearing their blue gear. 

Clearly, the three of them like being New York Giants and have no problem publicly rocking their jerseys despite uncertain futures. 

Barkley's is the most interesting, though, as he's been arguably the face of the franchise since the team drafted him #2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. 

The team used the franchise tag on him last year and could do the same again this year. The way the NFL system currently works, teams are incentivized to tag running backs rather than give them long-term contracts.

Saquon Barkley New York Giants Jets Rangers Islanders NFL NHL Stadium Series MetLife

(Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

That's great for the team, but bad for running backs. Over the past few years, they've started to make their grievances known. Several high-profile NFL running backs held out prior to last season – including Barkey, Josh Jacobs and Austin Ekeler – but all ultimately returned to their teams. 

Barkley has made it clear that he wants to be a New York Giant, but at the end of the day he has to follow the money. Barkley just turned 27 years old earlier this month and probably has one big NFL contract left. 

If he ultimately gets a multi-year deal, that would take him past his 30th birthday. Everyone knows what happens to running backs after they turn 30 and it usually doesn't go very well. 

With that in mind, Barkley needs to secure his future. He wants that to be with the Giants, and for now that's the plan. 

But, that can change quickly.  

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.