Saquon Barkley on free agency, ‘Hard Knocks’: ‘Giants were never really in the running’
When we watched the first three episodes of “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants,” we knew we were only getting one side of the Saquon Barkley saga: the Giants’ side. Now, we’re getting Barkley’s side of the story.
The superstar running back sat down with The Athleticss Dianna Russini on the latest episode of the “Ship City” podcast in which he discussed, among other things, his complicated departure from the Giants in March during the NFL’s free agency.
Here’s what we learned from Barkley’s conversation with Russini.
Has Barkley even seen ‘Hard Knocks’?
Although Barkley has seen snippets on social media, he told Russini that he only watched one episode. You can probably guess which one: Episode 3, which revolved around free agency and Barkley’s decision to leave New York and join the Giants’ big rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I had to watch it because, you know, the trailer that came out for this one, my Twitter blew up and was like, ‘You’re lying. You’re lying. Like we offered you,'” Barkley said on the podcast. “I think the trailer showed (general manager) Joe (Schoen) the numbers, but I think he was like, ‘If.’ I had to make sure I didn’t come across as a liar.”
Overall, Barkley found the episode “cool” and “unique,” acknowledging that while he had lived through the saga, he never experienced it through the lens HBO provided.
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What did Barkley think of the way the series portrayed his negotiations?
Barkley explained that while the show has positioned his storyline as a primary storyline in the Giants offseason, there weren’t many conversations with the Giants in the months leading up to free agency. They spoke once after the season and then again in that infamous phone call with Schoen that everyone saw on “Hard Knocks.” There was another one after he signed with Philadelphia.
“They really weren’t in the game,” Barkley explained to Russini. “When you watch ‘Hard Knocks,’ it’s like you think, ‘Oh, this was something that happened every day,’ but it really wasn’t.”
Barkley agreed to a one-year deal with the Giants last summer after receiving the franchise tag just before the tag deadline, saying he felt the previous offseason would have been “a little juicier” for the “Hard Knocks” cameras.
“Joe (Schoen), he said it took 10 years off his life,” Barkley said. “If it took 10 years off your life, what do you think it did for me?”
Reflecting on last summer, Barkley said his frustrations with the Giants didn’t stem from the fact that his teammates (Daniel Jones, Andrew Thomas and Dexter Lawrence) got paid or that Jones’ deal came together just before the tag deadline, but that he never got a “fair negotiation” after being tagged.
“So if they tag me, now they have all the power and it’s like, ‘Okay, I get that you have all the power and you have to do this. You’re doing your job,'” Barkley said. “But at the end of the day, can I get some respect? Can we get this thing going? Can we find a way, like you found a way to get DJ to do it, like you found a way to get Dexter and Andrew to do it. Could we have found a way to get me to do it?”
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Now, though, Barkley believes he came out on top after playing the tag and signing his new deal with the Eagles. When Barkley sat down with his family this offseason to decide where he would play in 2024, the Giants weren’t even in his mind among the final three teams.
“The whole time my agent and I talked about the Giants not doing anything at all,” Barkley said.
Barkley received some negative feedback about the way he sounded on the phone during a conversation with Schoen prior to free agency. Barkley explained that while the tone people heard was the tone he typically uses when answering the phone, he was also a little “fed up” at the time. He and the team spoke after the season, with Barkley stating that he still wanted to be a Giant. Barkley’s representatives and the Giants spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine, but the Giants never extended an offer to him for fear of being “disrespectful” — as Schoen put it on “Hard Knocks.”
“I felt like the Giants only wanted me if I could prove my worth to someone. Like I had to prove to someone that a team would pay me,” Barkley said on the podcast. “So maybe they would pay.”
About that phone call, Barkley said he didn’t want to come across as “begging” to return to New York. Barkley gave Schoen kudos for sticking to his feelings about his award. But at the same time, Barkley said it was a bit “disrespectful.”
“It’s kind of a slap in the face (to say), ‘Go see what you’re worth, and if you’re worth that, we’ll see if you’re worth it, and maybe match it.’”
When did he know his time with the Giants was over?
“It was over after that phone call, in my opinion,” Barkley told Russini. “It was over after I never really believed in my heart that they would match it, or that they only wanted me for a lower price.”
We looked at the #Giants side on Hard Knocks…and here’s Saquon Barkley’s version.
The Philadelphia #Eagle is a guest in an exclusive interview with Scoop City on Tuesday. #ScoopCity
🎤 photo.twitter.com/Pz7dBbQ91p
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 22, 2024
Barkley was concerned about whether the Giants would match, as he had already removed himself from the situation. The running back said his agent even pulled a prank on him by telling him the Giants had matched the offer, causing Barkley to drop the phone and exclaim, “Oh, my God,” as the agent laughed before telling him the truth.
What was the reaction after he signed with Philadelphia?
If you were on social media during free agency, you saw the hate Barkley received after signing with a division rival. Barkley said he had a “real” farewell video ready for Giants fans, but decided not to share it because of the fan reaction. “That was just really immature of me. That’s the only thing about that whole process that I kind of regret.”
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On “Hard Knocks,” team co-owner John Mara reacted to Barkley’s departure before it happened. In the third episode, he said, “I’m going to have a hard time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly, I can tell you that.”
After deciding to sign with Philadelphia, Barkley said he texted Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch to thank them for his time in New York. Barkley added that coach Brian Daboll called him and that he also spoke with Schoen.
Has Barkley thought about what his first game back at MetLife Stadium will be like?
Barkley knows the Eagles travel to MetLife in Week 7, but he said an Eagles win is the most important thing.
“The competitor in me wants to go out there and be crazy, but what do I get?” Barkley said. “You know, I mean, if I go out there and play well, play really well, what do I get at the end of the day? The most important thing is winning.”
Barkley brought up the story of when he went out specifically for him and tore his knee during his third season. He doesn’t want to miss another game for fun and for his teammates.
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“Dabs, Joe, Daniel Jones, they can all say the craziest things about me that week. As a participant, I’ll be passionate about it, but that game is just another game for me. But when you know the magnitude of it, it’s not another game because it’s the Giants. It’s the Giants. I’m going to treat it like I would when we play Dallas. I’m going to treat it like I would when we play Washington. I’m going to go out there and try to play ball for the team.”
(Photo: Candice Ward/Getty Images)
