If you’re a New York Giants fan who was upset about Saquon Barkley jumping ship to the NFC East foe Philadelphia Eagles, know you’re not alone. Even the Giants’ brain trust, especially owner John Mara, was crestfallen about the star running back joining a rival in free agency.
The latest episode of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants features the Giants’ candid discussion about the ramifications of losing Barkley. Once they realized the runner would likely go to Philadelphia instead of return to New York, Mara couldn’t believe it.
Mara started outlining how he’d lose sleep if Barkley really ended up wearing Eagles green because he was easily the Giants’ most popular player at the time.
Oof. What a tough reveal in hindsight:
#Giants owner John Mara on Saquon Barkley potentially getting interest from the Eagles and Bears:
"I'll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that. … He's the most popular player we have BY FAR."pic.twitter.com/T0SJDIyHZH
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 17, 2024
Once Barkley officially signed on the dotted line with the Eagles, Mara’s reaction was hilariously muted. You could tell the departure clearly hurt him more than he tried to let on:
This was the #Giants' reaction to the news of Saquon Barkley officially joining the #Eagles and the details of his contract…
GM Joe Schoen to owner John Mara: “We’re gonna be fine.” pic.twitter.com/Ydm6ztRs4j https://t.co/QkZLCjIFuI
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 17, 2024
Maybe Mara is right in the latter clip. Maybe the Giants will be fine without their bellcow tailback. After all, it’s not as if Barkley is a star quarterback or anything.
Now, that would’ve hurt much more.
Still, it’s pretty amusing to see this whole sequence play out behind the scenes, showing that New York was just as unhappy as its fans about losing a popular player.