All the talk and speculation swirling around Saquon Barkley is more focused on the state of mind of the star running back and his future with the Giants rather than his availability for the 2023 season. 

After all, the Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley and, although he has not yet signed the tender for $10.1 million, there is no real concern that this situation could devolve and possibly affect Barkley’s presence on the field this season. Is there? 

Asked if he is optimistic that Barkley will be on the team at the start of the season, general manager Joe Schoen certainly did not answer in the affirmative. 

“You have to ask him,’’ Schoen said Thursday. “I’m not sure. I don’t know what his plan is.’ 

At a time when the NFL draft dominates everything else for Schoen, the approach with Barkley and Dexter Lawrence, two of the best players on the team, continues to vary. 

Barkley turned down a contract offer averaging $12.5 million during the November bye week and after the season turned down a slightly enhanced deal that averaged $13 million annually.

After that, the Giants put the franchise tag on him and that is where it stands, with Barkley not allowed to participate in the offseason workout program and the Giants leaving it the way it is, for now, with their best running back and playmaker. 

“When we had the conversations with Saquon it was known we were going to get to a certain point and then we were gonna move on and regroup at some other time,’’ Schoen said. 

Schoen said he has not spoken with Barkley in three or four weeks. 

Barkley has until July 17 to either sign the franchise tender or come up with a new deal with the Giants. Barkley is not happy about the tag — no players appreciate getting tagged — and it remains to be seen if he will play on it this season. 

Schoen said he has spoken this week with Lawrence’s representatives and “the dialogue is good there.’’ Given the rising market for high-end defensive tackles, it is safe to state Lawrence is looking for a four-year deal averaging at least $22 million.

He is currently on the books for $12.4 million for this season. 

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Lawrence is not participating in the voluntary workout program. 

“That’s his decision,’’ Schoen said. “Dexter knows how we feel about him and he knows he’s an important part of the organization.’’ 

If Barkley plays on the franchise tag, he will not be under contract in 2024.

Schoen said that will not necessarily impact the need or desire to look for a running back sometime in the upcoming draft.

The Giants have pick No. 25 in the first round and 10 picks altogether. 

“There are players at all positions that are in the mix at 25, and I’m not going to rule any position out,’’ Schoen said. 

Schoen’s clipped tone when asked about Barkley reveals he is not comfortable airing in public any specifics of this particular contact entanglement.

Barkley is one of the most popular and high-profile players in the organization and is coming off a season in which he was healthy and a big contributor — career-high 1,312 rushing yards — to a team that was one of the league’s biggest surprise success stories. 

This is a case where Schoen has to separate his personal feelings and his business approach. He was asked if he is good at making this separation. 

“No, not really,’’ Schoen said. “It’s tough. These guys, they’re around, they work hard, we had a heck of a season last year and you become close with them and it’s hard. You do have to separate it, I’m not gonna say I’m good at it because there’s a human element on both sides, for them and myself. There is a business side to it and in a perfect world there’s no salary cap and you can make everybody happy and pay everybody. 

“That’s something I haven’t been through before. Last year we didn’t really extend anybody from our roster, we signed some people from outside the building so after going through a season with the players and this next step of the process, whether it’s extending or players leaving the organization, the human element, that part stinks, because you like all these guys and they put in a lot of work for you. It’s tough to separate the business and the human element. 

“The way [coach Brian Daboll] and I are around the building and getting to know the players, maybe we do that more than most. But you do become attached, for sure.’’