Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Saquon Barkley claims Giants never gave him offer to return

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 5/3/24

New Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was in attendance at Thursday's Game 6 between the 76ers and Knicks in Philadelphia and heard a loud chorus of boos from the thousands of New York fans that made the trip.

The reason for the poor response, of course, is that Barkley left the Giants this offseason and signed a new contract with one of their fiercest division rivals.

Barkley took to social media after the game and could not believe New York fans were still angry about the decision two months later and booing him at a basketball game in his new town.

When a Giants fan responded that he should expect it for bailing on New York, Barkley responded by saying he was never given an offer from the Giants to re-sign with the team.

Let me educate some of you fans here… I can’t bail or become a traitor if I never got an offer to come back.. so I went to the organization I felt that was the best and after already being here for a month man I’m excited to be a eagle ! Go birds
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) May 3, 2024

While it might be true that the Giants did not try to retain Barkley this offseason, they made repeated efforts to keep him on a long-term contract extension before that, including while he was franchise-tagged before the 2023 season.

When Barkley is healthy, he's one of the most dynamic running backs in the NFL and can be a game-changer. Giants fans will undoubtedly hate seeing him twice a year.

But it is also worth noting that two months is not that long of a time period for fans' anger to boil. That light response is nothing compared to what he is going to hear the first time he appears at MetLife Stadium wearing green.

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