NFL analyst questions Saquon Barkley’s public proclamation that the New York Giants never wanted him
Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants split up earlier this offseason. The running back had led fans to believe that the Giants turned their backs on Barkley. However, one analyst has alleged that the split emerged because Barkley instead had turned his back on the franchise.
Writing in a June 26 article for Pro Football Talk, analyst Michael David Smith noted a discrepancy between Barkley's version and what may have transpired. Here's how he put it:
"Last month, Saquon Barkley wrote on social media that he 'never got an offer to come back' to the Giants before signing with the Eagles in free agency. The trailer for the upcoming season of Hard Knocks seems to contradict that," he wrote.
He went on to set up the key quote from the trailer. In the trailer, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen is seen talking with the running back, asking him for "a chance."
"'Saquon, can you give me your word on that, or are you not going to give us a chance?' Schoen says on the phone," Smith spotlighted.
What did Saquon Barkley say on social media?
Barkley's post on social media came via X on May 2. In it, he claimed to "educate" fans about the situation.
"I can’t bail or become a traitor if I never got an offer to come back," he posted.
Of course, the point of education is to remove questions. Now, however, even more questions remain after the Hard Knocks trailer. That said, Barkley has a very slight defense here. In the post, Barkley said he "never received an offer." He never said that one was never going to come.
In the end, the impression given by the post was that Barkley left because the Giants didn't have an interest in him. However, the trailer for Hard Knocks appears to prove otherwise. At this point, fans might not ever know the full story of what both sides felt like the other was doing.
That said, with Barkley now on the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants will have two opportunities this season to prove that he made a wrong move. Still, he gets at least one win in avoiding a training camp featured on this year's edition of Hard Knocks.
This year, the program will center on the Saquon Barkley-less New York Giants. Will it show a team in disarray or one that is cool, calm, and collected?
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Pro Football Talk," "Hard Knocks," and H/T Sportskeeda.