When star running back Saquon Barkley left the New York Giants for the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, it was the worst nightmare for Giants fans.
In fact, Giants owner John Mara echoed those feelings when he said the news made him ‘sick.’
Despite expressing a desire to be a Giant for life several times over the past few years, the team and Barkley were never able to come to a deal.
However, Barkley shared on the New Heights podcast that Philadelphia was not his first interest entering free agency. Instead, it was the Houston Texans — the favorite to land Barkley ahead of free agency.
“Probably the team that had my first interest was Houston,” Barkley told the Kelce Brothers. “I got to communicate with C.J. (Stroud) and a couple of those boys, but this was before when you could actually put offers on the table and talk to teams.”
Days before the legal tampering period, there were reports that Barkley was going to take the best offer he received, a sentiment he echoed on the podcast.
“I had a good bit of teams that really was like all about me coming there and with the price point being up there,” Barkley said. “I’m happy with what I was able to get and shout out to my agent and my team that worked their (expletive) off for me. . . I wanted to get what I deserved that I thought was fair for me to take care of me and my family. That’s the goal you want to get to, that second contract.”
Barkley secured his bag and is now ready to take on his former team twice per season.
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