Saquon Barkley says New York Giants were ‘never in play’ for him

When the New York Giants drafted Saquon Barkley, they had really high hopes and expectations for what he would bring to the team. Those expectations were met in the first two seasons as Barkley rushed for over 1,000 yards in both 2018 and 2019.

But then Barkley got injured. He returned and got injured again. In 2022, he rebounded with over 1,300 yards on the ground but was under 1,000 in 2023 behind a subpar offensive line and a lot of contract-talk distractions.

After the 2023 season, Barkley was set to become a free agent. The Giants talked to him and his agent to see if the two sides could reach an agreement, which we all know didn’t happen as Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, Barkley is saying that he was never going to come back to New York and the Giants were never in play for him.

.@Saquon Barkley discusses what bothered him about his contract negotiations with the #Giants and shares his reaction to seeing it play out on ‘Hard Knocks’. pic.twitter.com/ZNid0ixtka

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) September 24, 2024

“On this side, in my life and in reality, the Giants really never were actually in play the second time. . . when they could have been the whole time,” Barkley said on the Dan Patrick Show.

Despite the ugly contract dispute and the eventual divorce, Barkley says he has “nothing but love” for the city of New York and the Giants organization.

With the Eagles this season, Barkley is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and over 100 yards on the ground per game. He’s recorded four rushing touchdowns and an additional 53 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Whether he’s being 100 percent honest or not, Barkley certainly feels he made the right decision. And right now, his stats support it.