The New York Giants opened Phase 1 of the voluntary portion of their offseason program Monday without two of their top players and team captains in running back Saquon Barkley and Dexter Lawrence.

Both remain in contact with the team and coach Brian Daboll as they deal with their contract situations, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.

"First of all, we've had a great turnout. We've had a few meetings here [Monday]. The guys that are here are excited to be back. We got off to a good start," Daboll said. "I've talked to both of those players, both Saquon and Dex. I'll leave those conversations as I always do, private."

Barkley is "unhappy" being stuck on the $10.1 million franchise tag, multiple sources told ESPN in recent weeks. He will not sign the tag anytime soon and, as a result, can't attend workouts or be in the Giants' team facility.

Lawrence elected to stay away from the start of the offseason program because of a contract disagreement, a source confirmed.

The Giants are trying to build momentum in the second year under Daboll. They had their first winning season since 2016 and first playoff victory since Daboll's inaugural campaign in 2011.

But they don't seem overly concerned at this point that the absences of Barkley and Lawrence will have a negative effect on the locker room.

"Yeah, it's April 17," Daboll said. "Again, I'm going to keep all those conversations private. That is the way I'll always do it. I'm excited about the guys that are here. Much respect for Saquon, and those things in some form or some time will find itself working out."

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