Saquon Barkley Is Headed To Philly

A lot went down yesterday during the NFL’s “legal tampering” period. Which of course was the first and only time any of these players have spoken to any of these teams... Allegedly. There was absolutely zero tampering before yesterday and then yesterday they tampered the hell out of each other. Yesterday was a tampering frenzy and nobody tampers like the NFL tampers... But only when it's legal to tamper, of course.

Obviously nobody buys that, but nobody cares either because everybody enjoys all the action of the first day of the "legal" tampering window. And the most controversial deal of the day was, without question, Saquon Barkley saying EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS.

Saquon said EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS and now he's heading down the turnpike to go turncoat and join the hated rival Eagles. It's a wild move. And it's a seemingly traitorous move. But I can't knock the dude for it. I actually love the move for Saquon. And I don't think he betrayed or backstabbed or turned Benedict Arnold or turned heel or any nonsense like that either.

Giants fan... What did you people want Saquon to do? The Giants have made it clear for years that no major contract extension was coming. Last summer, they played a drawn-out game after they slapped a franchise tag on his ass and he basically begged for any sort of new deal. And then he was finally forced to hold out before taking a one year deal that was basically the exact same deal as the franchise tag deal.

And despite all of that, he DID NOT actually say EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS. At least not last season. That clip has always been gold and now it's gonna be part of NFL lore forever, but here was the actual full context of that clip. Spoiler alert, it's all about Saquon explaining how badly he wanted to be a Giant. 

He never wanted to hold out. He never wanted to say EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS. He never wanted anything except to sign a new multi-year contract. And be a giant for life!!! And even though he never got that offer, he still didn't say EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS... He came back and played on that one year $11 mil deal. 

He came back and played in 14 games and toted the rock 247 times and caught it 41 times and basically represented anything that was remotely good about the Giants horrendous offense last year. Save for those 15 minutes of Tommy Cutlets and his 1920’s gangster movie villain agent, Saquon was all the Giants had going. 

This time around, the Giants didn’t even use the franchise tag. This time around, THERE WAS NO OFFER at all, period. Reportedly, The Giants put nothing on the table in front of Saquon this offseason. ESPN is reporting that they never even made him an offer. So what the hell was he supposed to do Giants fan?

What the hell was he supposed to sign… his own hand? Did you want him to pay the Giants to play for the Giants? I don't think Saquon said EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS because the Giants didn’t even give Saquon a chance to say EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS. 

So of course he jumped at the opportunity to sign a 3 year, $37 mil contract in Philly with $26 mil guaranteed that could eventually be worth as much as $46 mil. Of course he did. It would be insane not to. Especially in this era where big multi-year contracts for vet running backs are extremely rare. And Saquon knows that better than anyone else.

I get it Giants fan, your guy just went to your arch rival. It’s sickening. I get where Tiki Barber was coming from when he said Saquon was dead to him on WFAN yesterday. I get that the sting is deep for Giants fan. 

I just can’t blame Saquon for any of it. Including swinging back on Tiki. And this dude swung back HARD on the X:

Saquon Barkley @saquon

@tikibarber lol yup you’re the prime example of loyalty to a team... I got the deal I wanted, secured more gm which wasn’t given to me before… so if fans are gonna hate me for that so be it! But I never turned my back on my teammates and always had theirs

Yo… Saquon is not playing around. And again, I don’t blame him. But I also get where Tiki is coming from with this rebuttal.

Maybe Saquon took that a little too literally and a little too seriously, but the dude has a right to be frustrated with his critics back in New York. The guy didn’t have anything to sign. The Eagles gave him a fat contract to sign. And are, by the way, a much better team. And a much better situation. So what was he supposed to do… rip that contract up in Howie Roseman’s face because some Giants fans might get upset if he signs it? Come on now.

Saquon said over and over again he wanted to be a Giant FOR LIFE. And the Giants made it clear over and over again that they had no interest in making Saquon a Giant FOR LIFE. Or for even one more minute. 

Once again, BUSINESS IS BUSINESS. The Giants no longer wanted to be in the Saquon business. Philly badly wants to be in the Saquon business. And now they are. That's how this works.

And I really don’t think Saquon went there to say EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS. He went there because they actually put a deal on the table, and it was a really good deal and it’s a really good situation for Saquon. Who, as we all know, is from Pennsylvania, by the way? He had other reasons to sign there besides saying EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS.

I don’t think it was ever about saying EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS. But I also couldn’t really blame the dude if he did decide to say EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS. And the real headache for you, Giants fan, is dealing with this dude saying EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS twice a year going forward. Because if the EFF YOU TO THE GIANTS is gonna happen anywhere, it's gonna happen on the field.