Former Giants running back Tiki Barber apparently doesn’t like the fact that Giants running back Saquon Barkley will soon be a former Giants running back, too. And Barkley has no qualms about giving the business back to Barber.
Barber, who currently has a show on WFAN in New York, said this on Monday: “You’re dead to us, Saquon. Good luck, you’re dead to me.”
Barkley, who has agreed to terms with the Eagles, fired back: “lol yup you’re the prime example of loyalty to a team. I got the deal I wanted, secured more [guaranteed money] 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.”
Barkley added this message to Tiki: “you been a hater since I got to New York … and all the ‘Dead to me’ talk don’t smile in my face when you see me.”
We’re on #TeamSaquon here. He was the second overall pick in the 2018 draft. Thanks to the 2011 rookie wage scale, he never got the massive contract that, under the old system, he would have received.
The Giants then made him play his entire rookie deal, the fifth-year option, and one year under the franchise tag. After six NFL seasons, he finally hit the open market.
And the Giants could have kept him. They could have made a competitive offer. They could have taken care of him before he got within sniffing distance of free agency.
They didn’t. It’s not Barkley’s fault. He waited more than patiently for his reward. He finally got it, but not from the Giants.
What should Barkley have done, Tiki? Should he have less than he could have gotten elsewhere from a team that delayed his second contract as long as it could?
The Giants got six years from Barkley. They could have kept him. They made a business decision. He made a business decision, too. That’s how it goes. As a former player, Barber should know better than to blindly get behind the laundry and/or the billionaires.
To the extent, however, that Tiki feels compelled to pander to the fans who think that way, his attitude toward Barkley makes sense. It’s still the wrong attitude, but at least it makes sense.