Our colleague, Mike Fisher of Cowboys Country, recently penned a piece pondering the possibility of New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley potentially joining the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent if the Giants don’t reach a long-term deal with the running back.

But wait a minute. The Cowboys already have their own running back to deal with in Tony Pollard, who, like Barkley, received the franchise tag last year–but who, unlikely Barkley, signed it without much of a fuss given that he was coming off a season-ending injury.

This has Fisher debating if it makes sense for the Cowboys to potentially pursue Barkley “as a player superior Pollard” or if it makes more sense to retain Pollard given his “fit’ in the system and in the locker room.”

Fisher’s verdict? “In a vacuum, we believe Barkley is “better” than Pollard. Maybe the playoffs change that view of Pollard, a quality player, and a quality guy.”

Before anyone loses their lunch over the thought of Barkley potentially donning the star on his helmet next season, the Giants can use the franchise tag again on the running back.

Absent getting a multiyear contract done before the franchise tag window closes on March 5, It would be a stunning turn of events if the Giants don’t use the franchise tag on Barkley this year.

Does it make sense for the Giants, who as of this writing have $15,110,328 in effective cap space and $22,943,875 in total cap space, to tie up $12.419 in cap space (the estimated cost of the 2024 franchise tender for running backs) on Barkley?

Not exactly. Whereas the Giants last year were content to sit back and absorb the cost of the franchise tag for Barkley, this year, things are very different.

For one, last year, the Giants were coming off a successful season that saw them return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. This year, however, the Giants finished with a disappointing 6-11 record that openly exposed some gaping roster holes that must be addressed if this team is to push itself into the postseason discussion next year.

And given the cap space issue–yes, more can and will be created, but we digress–given the current circumstances, the Giants need to be way more prudent with their financial resources and how they allocate them.

The most likely scenario is that the tag will be used to buy more time if no deal is reached by the tagging deadline. However, at a certain point, as in before the draft, if no progress is made between Barkley and the Giants on a new deal, the Giants would be wise to explore a trade for the running back, who still has some quality football left in his legs.

If a “tag and trade” were to happen, Cowboys fans who dream of Barkley gracing The Star with his presence might want to start dreaming about something else.

That is unless the Cowboys, who, by the way, currently have an even worse cap situation than the Giants–Dallas is in the red in both effective cap space ($21,194,322) and total cap space ($16,091,660)– were willing to give up a small king’s ransom in a tag-and-trade scenario to help them clear the money they’d need to potentially fit Barkley under their cap.