Sheesh. The NFC East rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants runs deep, so it comes as little surprise that career-long Giants running back Tiki Barber came out firing on Monday once it was reported that Saquon Barkley fled New York in favor of Philly.
Former Giants RB Saquon Barkley reached agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million contract that could be worth up to $46.75M and includes $26M fully guaranteed at signing, per sources.
Barkley now beats the franchise tag number and has a maximum… pic.twitter.com/d2TnEWhaQ0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
Tiki Barber has no love lost for Saquon Barkley 😳
(via: @WFAN660) pic.twitter.com/Rf9mDH2DpR
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) March 11, 2024
What a baller move by Eagles GM Howie Roseman. The man is not afraid to spend big and make a splash. Needless to say, he accomplished that here by poaching Barkley from an arch-nemesis.
Once the Giants refused to give Barkley a long-term contract extension before last season when he played on the franchise tag, the writing was on the wall that his time with the team that drafted him second overall in 2018 was coming to an end. As for the notion that New York should’ve traded Barkley prior to letting him walk to Philly for nothing, Barber beat that back in an emphatic way.
However, he also praised the G-Men for getting right back in the running back market by signing Devin Singletary.
Tiki has had enough of @EvanRobertsWFAN wondering if the Giants should have traded Saquon Barkley during the season: pic.twitter.com/ZFrzqxddOw
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) March 11, 2024
"You end up replacing Saquon with someone who is virtually the same age, who is good – not as good – and you’re gonna pay him a lot less"
The Evan and Tiki crew unanimously praise the Giants replacing Saquon Barkley with Devin Singletary:https://t.co/46vQw0ALFE
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) March 11, 2024
Good for Tiki coming in hot with the takes about Saquon, but I were Saquon, I would lose not a wink of sleep over leaving the Giants. Seems like he won’t. Just a simple thank you, and PEACE.
Thank you to everyone who has shown me love and support over the past 6 years… forever grateful! Excited for the next chapter 💙✌🏾
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) March 11, 2024
The Giants are one of the shining examples of NFL dysfunction since their last Super Bowl with Eli Manning under center. They don’t have a viable franchise quarterback in place because they overpaid Daniel Jones. New York didn’t position Barkley or Jones for success thanks to their failure to build a competent offensive line. Head coach Brian Daboll is reportedly a screaming lunatic behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have an excellent o-line in place despite Jason Kelce’s retirement. That’ll easily be the best unit Saquon has ever played behind.
Saquon Barkley moves from this…
NYG Run Block Win % (ESPN):
2023: #31
2022: #26to this…
PHI Run Block Win %:
2023: #1
2022: #2and from this…
NYG run blocking rank (PFF):
2023: #30
2022: #14
2021: #21to this…
PHI run blocking rank:
2023: #3
2022: #3
2021: #5— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 11, 2024
Oh yeah, and he’ll have a QB in Jalen Hurts who just led the Eagles to a Super Bowl berth two seasons ago, with two outstanding wide receivers to complement the Saquon-led rushing attack in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. Talk about a massive upgrade in every conceivable way.
Tiki just comes across as a little jaded and jealous with this take. Yes, the rivalry is a real thing, but Saquon did all he could to keep the Giants relevant in recent years. The organization failed him and the fan base. When an opportunity presents itself to, you know, actually compete for a championship after years of losing, who can blame Saquon for taking it? Plus, he attended high school in Pennsylvania and went to college at Penn State. It’s a homecoming of sorts for him.
I’ll be stunned if the Giants aren’t fully rebooting their entire franchise by 2025. They’re just a straight-up mess right now. Losing Saquon is symbolic of that, and I think deep down, Tiki knows it. If I were in his shoes, I too would hate to cover a once-proud team I used to play for amid years of sucktitude.
