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Giants Owner's Quote About Saquon Barkley Resurfaced During Stellar Eagles Debut

Giants owner John Mara likely had a rough night of sleep after watching Barkley score three touchdowns in his debut with the Eagles.

Tim Capurso

Saquon Barkley runs with the ball during the first half of the Philadelphia Eagles' 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil on Friday night.
Saquon Barkley runs with the ball during the first half of the Philadelphia Eagles' 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil on Friday night. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Saquon Barkley soared high in his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles, as he tallied 132 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns to power the club to a 34–29 victory on Friday night at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

And it's likely that John Mara, owner of the New York Giants—Barkley's former employer—did not sleep very well on Friday night. Mara, discussing Barkley's then-free agency bid during an episode of HBO's Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants, expressed his displeasure with the thought of Barkley going to the division-rival Eagles.

"I'll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that," Mara said.

The quote resurfaced and made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter) during Barkley's stellar debut with Philadelphia.

It's not hard to imagine why. The Giants, plagued by a series of poor front office decisions, simply did not have the personnel to create a friendly offensive environment for Barkley during his six seasons in New York.

It had to be very difficult for Mara to watch—if he was even tuned in—the Eagles' offensive line pave giant holes for Barkley with ease. Or the likes of star receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith drawing defensive attention away from Barkley on the outside, a privilege he enjoyed very few times during his Giants tenure.

But it may get worse before it gets better for Mara. In Weeks 7 and 18, he'll have to watch his Giants attempt to defend the star running back they once drafted with gold jacket visions in mind.

Yikes.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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