The New York Giants drafted Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Yet, after six seasons with the franchise, the star running back signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency.
Giants fans were unhappy with Barkley’s decision to sign with a division rival and have criticized him ever since. Ahead of his first game back at MetLife Stadium, one Giants fan wore a “F–k Barkley” jersey, which went viral on social media. Jason Kelce did not like that and called out the Giants’ fan base for hating Barkley.
Jason Kelce Calls Out Giants Fans Over Saquon Barkley
The former Eagles center posted a lengthy message on X after seeing the picture of that explicit jersey.
Update from MetLife pic.twitter.com/YbeUULV6QL
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) October 20, 2024
“For the life of me, I don’t understand why Giants fans hate Saquon for what happened, and not the Giants organization for the fact he is an Eagle,” said Kelce.
“They have absolutely no one to blame other than the Giants ownership and management decisions for why he is no longer a Giant. Obviously understand their hate of the Eagles, and desire for him not to succeed, just very odd this energy is directed at him more so than the organization…”
After reading this message, one Giants fan asked Kelce to “Shut the f–k up,” to which the future Hall of Famer replied, “Boooooo.”
Boooooo
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) October 20, 2024
In another post, Kelce pointed out that the Giants organization should be blamed for Barkley’s departure. The running back wanted to stay with the franchise, but the Giants front office asked him to test the market, and he eventually ended up signing a three-year, $37.75 million deal with the Eagles.
Barkley is now on a much better team and still playing well. As for the Giants, they’re looking for a new quarterback, and it will take time for them to contend again.
Barkley Scored a TD Against Giants in Week 7
In his first game back against New York, Barkley scored a touchdown in the second quarter. At the time of writing, the 27-year-old running back had 10 carries for 79 yards and two receptions for 11 yards. Philadelphia led 14-3 at halftime.
The Giants have failed to replace Barkley, and had he still been on the team alongside Malik Nabers, Daniel Jones would be more successful. New York was 2-4 heading into Week 7, and despite having played well this year, they are unlikely to make the playoffs.
The Eagles, meanwhile, are potentially a Super Bowl contender and would move to 4-2 on the season with a victory over the Giants. Barkley has arguably been Philadelphia’s best player on offense this year and could play a major impact if the team were to make a deep run into the playoffs.
Philadelphia’s next three games are against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Dallas Cowboys. Despite their flaws, the Eagles are more than capable of winning all three and prove they can represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year.