Saquon Barkley has received a lot of hate from New York Giants fans following his switch to their NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, in free agency. Former Giants running back and now WFAN personality, Tiki Barber, heavily criticized Barkley for the move as well, which received a lot of attention.
In his interview with the Kelce brothers on the New Heights podcast, Barkley addressed Barber’s comments as well as the unhappy Giants fans.
Saquon Barkley Address Tiki Barber’s ‘Dead to Me’ Comments
When Barkley made the decision to leave New York, Barber took to his daily radio program on WFAN to speak out against the decision.
“He’s dead to us now. He’s dead to us. You’re dead to us, Saquon,” Barber said on his show.
This week, Barkley joined Travis and Jason Kelce on their New Heights podcast and finally addressed the comments Barber made earlier this month.
Saquon shared his thoughts on the RB market, and the reactions to him signing with Philly pic.twitter.com/lsvMetu0rI
— New Heights (@newheightshow) March 27, 2024
“You’re an ex-running back. You’re an ex-NFL player. I get fans being upset about me going to Philly,” Barkley said. “Don’t feed into the B.S.”
Barkley said he thinks it’s good that Barber has a radio platform and likes seeing current and former players like the Kelce brothers create platforms to talk about football. But Barkley thinks Barber crossed a line with those comments, especially since he played the same position in the NFL.
“Let fans do that,” Barkley said. “If fans wouldn’t be mad that I went from New York to Philly, that means I did nothing when I was in New York. That means I made an impact at some point.”
Barkley definitely did make an impact in New York during his six seasons in a Giants uniform. He rushed for over 5,000 yards and scored 35 touchdowns. He helped provide security to New York’s unstable quarterback situation, transitioning from Eli Manning to Daniel Jones, adding another 2,100 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.
Conversely, Barber played all 10 of his professional seasons with the Giants. In 10 years, he rushed for 10,449 yards and 55 touchdowns from 1997-2006. While he was a member of the Giants, they were 78-75-1, and Barber was a member of the NFC Championship team that lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl.
The game has changed since Barber retired, and there’s been a struggle for running backs to get paid their fair share. While Barber has the right to voice his opinion on his radio show, Barkley has a very fair argument for his decision to sign with the Eagles.
Barkley played out the 2023 season on the franchise tag, and the star running back and the Giants never appeared close to agreeing to an extension. After bypassing signing him to a big contract, New York let Barkley test the open market.
Any Giants fans mad at Barkley for choosing to sign with the Eagles should express greater frustration with the organization for letting him walk. In today’s NFL, however, teams are more resistant to paying running backs a premium salary, and the Giants are perfectly justified in electing to spend money elsewhere.
KEEP READING: Saquon Barkley Makes Pitch To Convince Jason Kelce To Come out of Retirement
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