Last offseason, the New York Giants and Saquon Barkley parted ways, and the superstar running back signed with their division-rival Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s revisit the breakup, why Barkley moved on, and which side ultimately made the decision.
Why Did Saquon Barkley Leave the New York Giants?
Barkley’s career with the Giants ended for two reasons: injuries and money. A poor offensive line took its toll on Barkley’s health, resulting in a torn ACL and multiple ankle injuries in recent years, limiting his time on the field.
In addition, the Giants refused to give Barkley the long-term contract that he believed he was worth. The Giants franchise-tagged Barkley in 2022 and 2023. However, they decided not tag him in 2024, letting him walk and sign with any team he wanted.
On “Hard Knocks: Offseason,” we saw the moment that Giants general manager Joe Schoen told Barkley that they were going to let him hit free agency.
Here's the phone call between #Giants GM Joe Schoen and Saquon Barkley when he was told he would be allowed to become a free agent.
Schoen asked Barkley if he could get his word on circling back to them during the process.
This is tremendous access.pic.twitter.com/wxt19WoY3J
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 10, 2024
Barkley regrets how he handled certain aspects of his exit.
“Once I announced it, everything kind of got hectic,” Barkley said on leaving the Giants. “I don’t think I handled it the right way; I think I could’ve given a proper goodbye.
“To the Giants fans who were hurt by me leaving, I have nothing but respect for them,” Barkley said. “For the last six years, they’ve been great to me and my family and created so many memories; I am forever grateful and thankful for them.”
Barkley is glad he no longer has to focus on the business side of football.
“I’m excited to get the business side off of it,” Barkley said. “The last few years I’ve had so many people talking about the tag or a new contract, and now all of that is done. Now we can keep the main thing the main thing and focus on playing football and winning games.”
#Giants exec Tim McDonnell on possibly losing Saquon Barkley:
“We lose Saquon, what’s our identity gonna be?”
GM Joe Schoen: “We’ve gotta upgrade the offensive line, and you’re paying Daniel Jones $40M. It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12M back.”pic.twitter.com/8XLdhpgM8K https://t.co/GbufUeZZWV
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 3, 2024
During an episode of “Hard Knocks: Offseason,” Schoen explained why the Giants didn’t want to spend a ton of money to retain Barkley, particularly after investing so much money in quarterback Daniel Jones.
“You’re paying Daniel Jones $40 million, and it’s not to hand the ball off to a $12 million back,” Schoen said.
Barkley ended up joining the Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal. The deal included $26 million guaranteed and an $11.625 million signing bonus. He felt Philadelphia was a perfect fit, and it probably doesn’t hurt that he’ll get to play the Giants twice a year.
“When it came to my attention that they were a team interested in me, I definitely got excited about it,” Barkley said. “Watching from afar everything that they’re about, the culture, the fans, definitely got excited about it. I’m happy to be a part of this.”
While the Eagles have gotten good production out of their running backs in recent years, Barkley is the best talent they’ve had at the position since LeSean McCoy. And this is the best offensive line Barkley has ever played with, so it quickly became clear that this is a match made in heaven.
Barkley was worth every penny for the Eagles, seriously challenging the NFL’s single-game rushing record and leading the team to the NFC Championship Game.
Revisiting Barkley’s Stint in New York
Barkley’s time in New York began in 2018 when he was taken No. 2 overall in the NFL Draft. And it didn’t take him long to make an impact in the NFL, as he won Offensive Rookie of the Year after rushing for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns.
As a sophomore, he rushed for 1,003 yards and six TDs. That was when everything went awry, though. In 2020, he suffered a torn ACL that limited his season to just 34 yards and no touchdowns. Then, in 2021, he suffered an ankle injury that limited him to just 593 yards and two touchdowns.
However, 2022 was a return to normalcy, as he was healthy and rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. But while playing on the franchise tag in 2023, he rushed for just 962 yards and six touchdowns, in part due to a lingering ankle injury. As a result, the Giants decided to let him walk in free agency.
Saquon!
📺: #GBvsNYG on ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/0LeBKvPPxF pic.twitter.com/FrcuHyP2JN— NFL (@NFL) December 12, 2023
Throughout his stint with New York, Barkley rushed for 5,211 yards and 35 touchdowns on 1,201 carries. He solidified himself as one of the Giants’ best running backs of all time, as he currently ranks fourth in yards, sixth in touchdowns, and fourth in attempts. He also had 288 receptions for 2,100 yards and 12 touchdowns.
He finished his Giants career as a two-time Pro Bowler, on top of his Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He was also a part of the PFWA All-Rookie team.
Eagles vs. Commanders Game Preview
- Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Date: Jan. 26, Sunday
- Channel: Fox/Fox Deportes
Now, Barkley is looking to lead the Eagles past Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.
With one more win, Daniels can become the first rookie quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. Daniels will be the sixth rookie QB to start in the Conference Championship Round; the prior five went 0-5 and performed disastrously.
Including the playoffs, Daniels ranks first in EPA per dropback when blitzed (0.36). While still effective against standard pass rushes, his EPA per dropback drops to 0.10 (13th) in those situations.
During this playoff run, Daniels became the first rookie QB in NFL history to record 275 passing yards and 50 rushing yards in a playoff win, the first rookie to beat a No. 1 seed since Joe Flacco in 2008, and the third rookie QB to win two road playoff games (joining Flacco and Mark Sanchez).
Now, Daniels will face an Eagles defense that blitzes at the second-lowest rate of any team this season, including playoffs. During their two regular-season matchups, Daniels punished the Eagles’ blitz, producing an incredible 1.03 EPA (Expected Points Added) per dropback and 14.5 yards per attempt when blitzed.
Philadelphia only blitzed him on 14 of his 84 dropbacks (17%) in those games. Against their non-blitz pass rush, Daniels was far less effective, averaging a modest -0.02 EPA per dropback.
Barkley had significant success against Washington. In their two matchups, Barkley rushed for 451 yards and four touchdowns, averaging an impressive 5.4 yards per carry.
However, the Commanders found a way to limit Barkley in Week 16 after Jalen Hurts left the game in the first quarter, forcing Kenny Pickett to step in. Over the final three quarters, Barkley managed just 41 rushing yards on 22 attempts. Before Hurts’ injury, Barkley had been averaging over 7.7 yards per carry against Washington.
If Hurts is limited by his left leg injury, the Commanders could focus on loading up against Barkley to contain the Eagles’ rushing attack. By committing additional resources to stop Barkley, they might aim to force Hurts to rely more on his passing game, testing his mobility and effectiveness with the injury.
The Eagles have leaned heavily on Barkley and Hurts’ rushing abilities to generate offense in the playoffs. Through two games, 70.9% of their total yards have come on the ground.
The Commanders will play in the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991. Only the Browns, who last appeared in a Conference Championship Game in 1989, endured a longer drought.
Washington went 4-13 (.235) last year, marking the fourth-worst win percentage in the season prior to making a Conference Championship appearance, trailing only the 2017 Jaguars (0.188), 2006 Saints (0.188), and 1967 Oilers (0.214).
The Eagles lost two games in September and have lost one game since — at Washington in Week 16 after Hurts exited early with a concussion. In that loss, Philadelphia became the first team to score 21 points in the first quarter in a losing effort since the 2019 Texans (during the Divisional Round on the road against the Chiefs).
PFN’s Playoff Predictor gives the Eagles a 61.8% chance of winning this game while the Commanders have 38.2% odds.
