Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux Not Upset Over Saquon Barkley's Decision to Join Eagles

Thibodeaux spoke out earlier this year about the Giants not getting Barkley signed to a long-term deal.

Jan 7, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (26) looks up before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this year, New York Giants outside linebacker Kayvn Thibodeaux wasn’t shy in voicing his opinion that the team should have paid running back Saquon Barkley his worth before paying quarterback Daniel Jones.   

They didn’t and the former Penn State star took his talents to Philadelphia, the Giants’ fiercest division rivals. So, how does Thibodeaux feel about that now that he has to face his former teammate twice a year? 

“It’s a business at the end of the day. I never really took it hard,” he said on the Rich Eisen Show. “I reached out to (Barkley)… This is a ‘not-for-long’ league, so you’ve got to get paid when you can. 

“We’ve seen it before with past contracts and past players, so I am happy he was able to get the contract he was seeking.”

Eisen followed up by asking Thibodeaux, who has expressed interest in learning about the business side of the game in the past, about the message received in the locker room after the team let Barkley, safeties Xavier McKinney and Julian Love–all of whom were team captains–leave.

“Depending on how they view the long-term contracts and the way they want to build the team, [the contracts] may or may not fit in it. Even (when) you look at me, right? We just paid Brian Burns, so me trying to — within the next couple of years — get a big contract, it may or may not be in the best interest of the team long term.”

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