One of the biggest news coming out of the NFL offseason was when Saquon Barkley signed with an NFC East Rival in the Philadelphia Eagles, leaving the New York Giants in free agency. In an interview with football insider Diana Russini, Barkley was candid in how he felt about the Giants during the process, especially what led him to choosing the Eagles as his next destination.
To put it bluntly, Barkley was not a fan of how the Giants composed themselves during negotiation talks as the team told the star running back to find other offers from different teams and return to them to see if they would match it. The Penn State product would say that it was “disrespectful” and even felt “like a slap in the face” according to Bleacher Report.
“I kind of felt like it was kind of a little disrespectful, to be honest,” Barkley said. “It's kind of like a slap in the face.”
Ever since being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Barkley had been arguably the face of the franchise as he was one of the most exciting prospects in the position for some time and his results on the field backed that up. However, the relationship likely turned sour in 2023 when New York gave quarterback Daniel Jones a huge contract extension and placed a franchise tag on Barkley which would lead to a one-year contract.
What Giants general manager told Barkley, revealed on “Hard Knocks”
There would be a phone call released on HBO's Hard Knocks featuring the team where it was between Giants general manager Joe Schoen and Barkley where the executive said for the 27-year old to test the market.
“I think, just mulling over this, the right thing to do is let you test the market and see what your value is. I don't want to do the franchise thing, or all that again, I don't want to go through that, we've both been through that,” Schoen said to Barkley. “If you really want to be a Giant for life and you're interested in staying here and coming back, just see what your market is and have Ed come back to us and we'll see if we can come to an agreement.”
Barkley knew early on that he would not be returning to Giants
However, Barkley would tell Russini that he “probably wasn't going to go back” and play for the Giants and even said that “I never in my heart truly believed that they were going to match it.”
“No matter what, I probably wasn't going to go back,” Barkley said. “Like, I know my agent went back and talked to him and, like, we gave him the opportunity, like, all right, what we matched. But, like, the whole time, like, I was already, like, already removed myself from that. Like, I had that conversation, and I was like, damn, like, it's going to suck, like, it hurt. It was like, I wanted to do this and, like, that's why it hurts. It hurts because, like, I'm the type of player, the type of person, like, I envision things. It's like I wanted to be a part of New York and the success and be a part of that organization.
“And I'm happy that I was. So, it was like, damn, OK, it's coming to an end. But at the end of the day, it was like, I'm not retiring, like my career wasn't over, like I still have a lot of ball left. So, it was like, all right, you put that chapter aside and you're thankful for that chapter and then you move on.”
Barkley talks about getting the contract he wanted from Eagles
It led to the shocking news that the Eagles signed Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract which came about of the star running back believing in himself as he explained to Russini.
“And then come to find out when I hit the open market what I thought would happen, or I believed in myself what would happen, actually happened,” Barkley said.
“A lot of teams that were about it, were really sending true offers and wanted me to come and play for the team. So then that felt good because it was like, all right, like I feel like the Giants thought I was going to go out there and get nine, maybe eight, stretch to 10, and then I'll come back to them and it's ‘all right, well, we got you if you want to come play at nine, you can play at nine,' which I think that's truly what would have got it done. I think that's just where they valued me at, or Joe valued me at.”
Barkley talks journey with Giants, how it led to Philadelphia
One even more surprising aspect Barkley mentioned in his interview was that the Giants were not even in his top three teams to sign to in the offseason, per Bleacher Report. Which could further show how the relationship was fractured between the two parties, but as he said himself, “that's in the past.”
“But that's in the past,” Barkley said. “I don't really care about that because ultimately, like, I got tagged, played for the $10 million, and then I end up getting more money. Like, I end up, like, that's why you can't, like at the time, it seemed like it was a disaster. And I'm like, ‘oh, man, like, I gotta do this,' but in reality, like, I bet on myself. And I came out on top in that scenario. All I asked was for me to get my opportunity to go get the most money that I can possibly get.
“And they gave me that so like people could see it like was I salty about it, this, that and the third? When they told me that they weren't going to tag me, I was like, you know what? That's the only thing I ask, because last year when they tagged me, I knew exactly how it was going to play out. The conversations, the tone of the conversation changed. Like, they had me. Because it really was like, ‘We can offer you whatever you want and either you take it or you go play on this one-year deal or don't show up and just miss out on $10 million.' And like, no one's going to in their right mind is going to just, should not show up and take the money.”
Eagles and Barkley set for an explosive season
Last season, Barkley rushed for 962 yards to go along with six touchdowns as he only played in 14 games where he is looking to provide a full healthy season for his new team in Philadelphia where he can thrive. He is looking help bolster the Eagles and improve after going 11-6 which put them second in the NFC East as they were eliminated in the wild card round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They start the upcoming season in Brazil against the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Sept. 6.
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