One of the most captivating offseason storylines was the divorce between the New York Giants and superstar running back Saquon Barkley, whom the team selected second overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
After nearly two full years of constant negotiation on a long-term deal, the Giants and Barkley reached an impasse. They allowed him to test the free agent market and he ultimately ended up signing with their NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.
The final leg of their journey together played out on HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants,” which featured distraught Giants co-owner John Mara lamenting the possibility that Barkley would end up in Philly.
Saquon Barkley in first game with Eagles:
– 26 touches
– 132 yards
– 3 TDsJohn Mara probably won't sleep much tonight 🦅#Eaglespic.twitter.com/rvC8h4fTNj
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) September 7, 2024
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping in Saquon goes to Philly, I’ll tell ya that,” Mara told general manager Joe Schoen on the show.
Mara’s worst nightmare became a reality on Friday night as Barkley made his Eagles debut in a 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers in which he tallied 132 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns.
As upsetting as that may be for Mara, Schoen still believes it was the right choice for the Giants. He does not subscribe to the theory of investing heavily in the running back position and was justifiably concerned with Barkley’s injury history and inconsistency.
Although Barkley’s final stats were undeniably impressive on Friday night, he still performs as a boom or bust back. He had more runs for negative yardage (4) than runs of 10-plus yards (3). He also had 16 rushes for three yards or fewer and averaged just 3.1 yards per carry if you were to remove his long of 34.
None of that is going to make Barkley’s Eagles debut any easier for Mara to swallow, however.
