Saquon Barkley Fires Back at Giants Legend Over Eagles Signing

The Philadelphia Eagles dropped a massive bomb on Monday by signing free-agent running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal. Considering how Barkley was one of the top available names, it isn't surprising that fans of other teams are disappointed about losing out on his services — including an NFC East rival's legend.

Former running back Tiki Barber — who spent 10 seasons with the New York Giants — commented on the signing, saying that Barkley is "dead to me" and the Giants fanbase after joining the Eagles. Dramatic, much?

Well, it didn't take long for the Eagles' newest RB to put some heat right back on the three-time Pro Bowl RB.

Eagles News: Saquon Barkley Fires Back at Tiki Barber

Shortly after Barber's remarks, Barkley took to X (formerly Twitter) and didn't mince any words. The 27-year-old rusher said that Barber has "been a hater" ever since Barkley joined the Giants in 2018 and that he doesn't want the retired RB to "smile in my face when you see me."

Barkley didn't stop there, though. The former second-overall pick added that joining the Eagles meant getting the type of guaranteed money that wasn't offered to him in New York. He also pointed out that he's fine if the Giants fans hate him for leaving, but that he "never turned my back on my teammates and always had theirs."

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, $26 million of Barkley's contract is fully guaranteed. With how volatile the contract market can be for running backs, you can't fault him for signing wherever he could get the most money. In this case, it was with the Eagles.

Understandably, Barber is upset about Barkley leaving the Giants. He's one of the franchise's best running backs of all time, but the 48-year-old must also remember that the NFL is a business. Producing results helps convince players to stay and that's the opposite of what New York did.

Since drafting Barkley back in 2018, the Giants have gone 34-64-1 across six seasons with one playoff appearance in 2022. They failed to build a competent offensive line in front of him, which goes to show just how talented Barkley is given that he rushed for over 5,200 yards and 35 TDs during that stretch.

Nevertheless, the Giants' failure to Barkley is the Eagles' gain. Even with Jason Kelce officially retiring, Philadelphia's offensive line is still one of the best in the NFL, proven by its 74.9 Pro Football Focus run-block grade in 2023 — third-best in the league.

We'll see if Barkley's addition to the backfield leads to championship glory next February. For now, the Eagles own the eighth-best Super Bowl LIX odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.

In other Eagles news: