The New York Giants held "productive conversations" about the futures of star pair Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley according to general manager Joe Schoen.
Jones and Barkley are both franchise tag eligible and integral members for the Giants, who last season qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Schoen said the Giants intended to tag Jones if they could not secure a deal with him by the March 7 deadline, but was "cautiously optimistic" about completing deals for both players.
"We had productive conversations yesterday. We have some more scheduled today, so we'll just continue to communicate with them," Schoen told reporters on Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine.
"We'll continue to hammer out and try to get closer to getting something done hopefully."
He added: "I would love to have them both back. They work well with each other. Their entire careers in the NFL, they've been together. I do think they complement each other well.
"We've had productive conversations with both their representatives – Saquon going all the back to November – and we'll continue to do so. There's not priority on one or the other."
Schoen acknowledged tagging Jones would not be ideal for the Giants given it would cost $32.4million and potentially impact Barkley, who is a pending free agent.
"If you have to franchise tag Daniel, I don't think that's best for the organisation and I don’t believe it's best for Daniel," Schoen said.
"Especially as we try to build the team around him and questions about receivers and other positions on the other side of the ball where we may need depth.
"It does hurt you a little bit in terms of team building process, but we're prepared if that's the scenario that we’re faced with. We have a plan-B and we'll try to execute that the best we can."
Schoen insisted that there was "no doubt" that Jones would be the Giants quarterback next season.
Jones threw 15 touchdown passes from 16 starts in the 2022 season with a career-best 67.2 per cent completion rate and career-best 3,205 passing yards, with only five interceptions.
Pro Bowl running back Barkley scored 10 rushing touchdowns in a bounce-back 2022 season, returning a career-best 1,312 rushing yards in 16 starts.
Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up wide receiver DeVonta Smith through the 2028 season on Monday.
Philadelphia exercised its fifth-year option on Smith for the 2025 season and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2028.
Smith’s extension is reportedly worth $75million, including $51million in guaranteed money.
Philadelphia selected Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with Alabama in 2020.
Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 and first non-quarterback or running back to capture the honour since cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 regular-season games while adding 27 receptions for 405 yards and a TD catch in five postseason contests.
OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV
From cherished American superstar to villain whose murder trial captivated a global audience, OJ Simpson’s fall from grace was startling.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, has died at the age of 76 after losing his battle with prostate cancer, leaving behind four children.
Before the low-speed car chase by police and ‘Trial of the Century’ that began the unravelling of his reputation, Simpson was a darling of American sport who had also carved out a successful acting career.
He was raised in a low income neighbourhood in San Francisco and joined a local gang but his athleticism offered a route out and he found his purpose in gridiron.
A prolific running back, he starred for USC and in 1968 won the Heisman Trophy awarded to the outstanding player in college football. Inevitably, he was first overall draught pick the following year.
Progress in his first couple of seasons at the Buffalo Bills was slow but his impact grew and he went on to become one of the most successful operators in his position, winning the NFL’s most valuable player in 1973 and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1985.
He became the game’s highest paid player and lucrative commercial deals also followed as companies looked to leverage his charisma and popularity, while his acting career included parts in blockbusters ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Naked Gun’.
For all his film presence he was little known outside the United States but that changed for all the wrong reasons when he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Brown and Goldman had been found stabbed to death in LA and once police had filed charges, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was pursued in an extraordinary car chase that was at low speed because he had a gun pointed to his head.
The event was televised live to millions and projected his notoriety worldwide, with the broadcasting of his subsequent murder trial only intensifying interest in this fallen star.
He was acquitted the following year but a civil lawsuit found him liable for the deaths, resulting in an order to pay £26.7million pounds to the victims of the families. Only a fraction of that amount was actually paid.
Arrests followed for a variety of offences in the early 2000s and his lowest point eventually came in 2007 when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.
He served nine of a 33-year jail sentence and upon his release he continued to live in Las Vegas, looking increasingly frail when in public but active on social media. Simpson always maintained his innocence of the murders.
OJ Simpson dies aged 76
OJ Simpson has died of cancer at the age of 76.
Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers from 1969 to 1979, before being acquitted of murder in a trial in the mid-1990s.
News of Simpson’s death was announced by his children on his X account.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” read a statement.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace. -The Simpson Family”
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