Giants Share Blunt Reaction to Saquon Barkley Joining Eagles in ‘Hard Knocks’ Clip

Kristen Wong | Jul 17, 2024

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Saquon Barkley’s decision to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason sparked a firestorm of reactions from fans and pundits around the league. A new clip from “Hard Knocks” offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse at exactly how the New York Giants’ brass reacted upon finding out their star running back could be defecting to a rival team.

In the latest episode of the HBO docuseries, Giants general manager Joe Schoen revealed he received a text about Barkley’s free agent market in which the Bears and Eagles were apparently fighting over the two-time Pro Bowler.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Giants owner John Mara told Schoen. “He’s the most popular player we have by far.”

#Giants owner John Mara on Saquon Barkley potentially getting interest from the Eagles and Bears:

"I'll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that. ... He's the most popular player we have BY FAR."pic.twitter.com/T0SJDIyHZH

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 17, 2024

In another clip, Schoen is on a phone call with Barkley’s agent, Ed Berry, in which Schoen decided against making a final offer after discovering Barkley was out of the Giants’ price range. Schoen then tried to find out from Berry which team Barkley was joining instead.

“Is it in the division?” Schoen said. “I’m trying to prepare myself mentally for what’s going to happen, that’s all.”

Schoen and the Giants would later hear that Barkley inked a three-year, $37.75 million deal with their NFC East rivals. If this “Hard Knocks” offseason series on the Giants is must-watch television right now, so will be Barkley’s first game against his former team in the upcoming 2024-25 season.