Saquon Barkley, Dexter Lawrence not at Giants' voluntary program
Giants running back Saquon Barkley, left, and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
When a team’s best two players are absent from the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program, there are going to be questions.
Lots and lots of questions.
Along with 25 other NFL teams, the Giants opened their doors Monday to the offseason conditioning program which, by NFL rules, is voluntary.
Plenty of players showed up.
In fact, coach Brian Daboll referred to “a very high percentage of people who are here.”
And yet so many of the questions, understandably, were about the two big guys who were not: running back Saquon Barkley and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence.
“I’ve talked to both of those players, both Saquon and Dex,” Daboll said. “But I’ll leave those conversations, like I always do, private.”
Pressed, Daboll said: “I take it day by day. Again, I’ve had conversation with both of those guys . . . I hope you can respect that.”
Last season a high-ranking Giants official, in a conversation with Newsday, referred to Barkley and Lawrence as the Giants’ two best players. So, yes, there is a considerable void — and considerable interest — when those two are choosing to be absent.
Asked if he addressed the absences of Barkley and Lawrence with the team, Daboll said: “I talked to the team about a lot of things. Again, those are private team meetings that we have. It’s good to see everybody back here, getting off to a good start. I’d say we have a very high percentage of people who are here. That’s what we’ll work [with]. We’ll work at getting better each day.”
Daboll spoke with reporters via Zoom, as did quarterback Daniel Jones, left tackle Andrew Thomas and safety Xavier McKinney.
Barkley, given the non-exclusive $10.1 million franchise tag for a running back, is staying away, as Newsday first reported last Wednesday that he would.
Lawrence is doing the same as he awaits the new contract he’s earned as an indefatigable force on the Giants' defensive line.
Both Barkley and Lawrence are vital players for the Giants. Both were captains last season, and Barkley has been voted a Giants captain every year since his second NFL season in 2019.
Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence speaks to the media after practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Tuesday. Credit: Brad Penner
And both were highly productive in 2022. Lawrence was on the field for 76% of the Giants' defensive snaps last season. Barkley was on the field for 75% of the offensive snaps.
Barkley is not allowed in the building “until he signs his franchise tender,” Daboll said. The deadline for the Giants and Barkley to strike a deal with a contract is July 17. (That’s assuming there is a deal to be made.)
McKinney, a fellow captain, was asked about the absence of two of the Giants' current cornerstones.
“No, I don’t think it’s an issue,” McKinney said. “They are dealing with their own things. That’s for them to work out. But we know what type of guys that they are and what type of players that they are, and we all love them.
“We all kind of know what it is. [Teammates] aren’t really looking into it like that. But I think Dabs has handled it great. I think we all, like I said, we all know what type of guys they are and what they bring to the table, so that's how we see it.”
Of course, the calendar still says April. So there’s time, plenty of it.
If you’re wondering, the first mandatory scenario for the Giants this spring is minicamp, scheduled for June 13-15.
A lot can, and likely will, happen between now and then.
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.
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