Eagles' A.J. Brown "fired up" by Saquon Barkley's viral Hard Knocks video
A.J. Brown has thrown his weight behind Saquon Barkley after a viral Hard Knocks video emerged about the Giants discussing wanting to have the running back return to the franchise but not willing to match what the Eagles offered him.
The Eagles wide receiver reacted to that on X (formerly Twitter), exclaiming:
"The Saquon video fired me up and it wasn’t even about me . I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you get yours fam! @saquon"
In the video, John Mara is recorded saying that he wants to have Saquon Barkley back for the Giants but does not want to offer him something that is too low. Instead, he wants the running back to check the market in free agency and see if there is a team that can offer him more and then come back to New York to see if they can match it.
As it turned out, the Eagles offered him a three-year, $37.75 million contract with $26 million guaranteed. The Giants were unwilling to match that and allowed Saquon Barkley to join their divisional rivals instead. That purported disrespect from his previous team is what has got A.J. Brown fired up now to ensure that the running back can do as well as he can in Philadelphia.
Saquon Barkley feels A.J. Brown and company will bring out the best in him
Saquon Barkley felt A.J. Brown had his back even before the wide receiver went and confirmed it on social media. He did not have much support on offense when he was with the New York Giants, with no wide receiver reaching the 800 yards mark since his rookie season. So, the pressure was always on him.
He was also the only consistent Pro Bowl candidate on that team. Now, the running back has a phenomenal cast of offensive weapons to work with. That is even without including the offensive line, who despite Jason Kelce's retirement, remains one of the best in the league
As reported by NBC Sports Philadephia, he himself acknowledged:
“The biggest thing that struck me is our first 7-on-7 huddle (in OTAs). You see A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts. It's not a bad group to be out there with. And that's not even including the offensive linemen.”
Add in the fact that the offensive line coach and run game coordinator is the legendary Jeff Stoutland, widely considered the best in the league, and Saquon Barkley knows that A.J. Brown and his Eagles teammates can elevate the running back's game to another level.