In the lead-up to the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 7 game against the New York Giants, the biggest storyline fans kept an eye on was Saquon Barkley's return to MetLife Stadium.
Unfortunately, it didn't turn out particularly well for the G-Men, as Barkley had his second-best game as a pro and outgained his former team singlehandedly as a rusher/receiver. The Giants couldn't get anything going on the ground, couldn't slow down Vic Fangio's pass rush, and their passing game was so poor that Daniel Jones, a player New York prioritized over Barkley, was benched for Drew Locke.
So naturally, Barkley must have been flying high, right? Excited to really stick it to the team that wouldn't give him a fair deal and effectively forced him to take his talents back to the Keystone State? Nope, as, in an appearance on The Pivot Podcast, Barkley revealed his much more reserved take on the situation, as he would have approached the situation the same way regardless of who he was playing.
“What do I get out of it? We’re going to move on to the next week, no matter what. They play the Steelers, they play them Monday night, they still have to get ready for Pittsburgh, and I still have to get ready for Cincinnati,” Barkley explained. “I get nothing out of it, I don’t play this game for pats on the backs, or you really stuck it to them. I play the game because I want to be great, I want to be mentioned with all those guys up there. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, look at me,' this is business. This is what I do, this is the type of player I am, this is player I’m going to continue to be.”
Pretty mature stuff from a player no one would blame for being a little cocky, right? Well, wait, it gets even better, as Barkley still had plenty more to say about taking the high road.
Saquon Barkley is happy to be a member of the Philadelphia Eagles
Discussing the matter further, Barkley revealed why he holds no ill will towards the Giants, as even if his free agency played out very publically for the world to see on Hard Knocks, he ultimately got what he wanted out of free agency.
“I’m not going to let just because somebody over there took an opportunity on a TV show to try to play me,” Barkley said. “There’s part of that, you see it, but bro, I’m happy, I’m smiling, my family is good, I got the contract I want. I’m in the place that I want to be; I’m where I’m supposed to be at the right time. So I’m not going to even give that person or any of those people that energy.”
No matter how the Eagles play out the 2024 NFL season, it's clear the Barkley acquisition has been an absolute steal, with the pride of PSU paying off in a spectacular way through seven games. Even if Barkley wants to keep things professional by focusing on Philadelphia's future instead of his Giants' past, every marquee effort, massive run, or Player of the Week honor will only further highlight how poorly New York handles this situation, especially considering their free agent back, Devin Singletary, only has 239 yards to his name so far this season.
