Saquon Barkley has a lot of fond memories and lifelong friends from his days as a New York Giants.
But come Sunday, any of those warm and fuzzy feelings shared with those he left behind for the greener pastures of the Philadelphia Eagles will be put on hold.
“No telling,” said Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II when asked what he anticipated the reception might be like for Barkley among the players.
Before the game, there is certain to be a lot of hugs exchanged between Barkley and those he went to war with for his first six NFL seasons. After the game, there might even be a jersey swap–maybe with Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who still considers Barkley a very dear friend even though the two haven’t talked this week.
But during the game, Barkley is just another green and white helmet representative of an Eagles team that has mostly gotten the better of the Giants in recent years and must be stopped at all costs.
“I had a chance to go against him in practice, in the (former Giants Head Coach) Joe Judge era,” Lawrence said. “Got a couple of tackles on him then. Now it's time for a full game against him. I know what kind of player he is and his mindset going into games. I'm excited to compete and just beat the Eagles.”
This isn’t the first time this Giants locker room has faced a one-time beloved teammate who moved on to a new team after his contract expired.
A recent example before Barkley was offensive lineman Nick Gates, once a team captain and a gritty player who endeared himself to his coaches and teammates by displaying many of the same qualities Barkley displayed in the locker room.
But Gates, for as appreciated as he was by teammates, wasn’t quite the same caliber of player Barkley is.
That’s why, as far as Lawrence is concerned, it’s not the New York Giants vs. Saqon Barkley; it’s the New York Giants vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.
“At the end of the day, it's football. You’ve got to beat whoever is in front of you, and this week it’s the Eagles. That's the game plan. I'm excited to compete against Saquon (Barkley) for a full game. Just put my will on him a little bit.”
Barkley, for his part, doesn’t think his return will be that big of a deal among the Giants, who are expected to dominate the MetLife Stadium crowd on Sunday.
“I don’t expect a great reaction. I don’t expect to be booed,” Barkley told ESPN. “I look at it like this: The Philadelphia Eagles and New York Football Giants probably played in over 200 games. This rivalry was there before me and will be there after me.
"Maybe I'm naive, but I think it's over. That chapter's closed," Barkley added. "I truly don't care no more, and I'm pretty sure fans don't care no more."
Perhaps he’s right that the expectations of an all-out tomato-throwing fest from the stands is being played up by those looking for added drama between two teams known to organically develop their own drama.
But then some can’t forgive Barkley, who, during his contract negotiations, kept chirping about wanting to be a Giant for life but kept turning down multiple offers from the team because they weren’t good enough.
Lawrence isn’t one of those people.
“Honestly, I think he did a lot of good for this organization,” he said. “But, we've got some tough fans, and they're going to bring him in however they feel is right with them. I appreciate what he did for this organization and who he was as a teammate and a person to me, most importantly.
“But, Sunday is war, and he knows that,” he added.
