In the span of just one season, star running back Saquon Barkley went from essentially being let go by the New York Giants to being a Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles. And thanks to Barkley’s individual and team success, it now appears that any hard feelings that Barkley may have had towards the Giants organization may not finally be water under the bridge.
During a guest appearance on Tuesday’s edition of The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon showed a clip of the now-infamous moment on HBO’s Hard Knocks: Offseason when Giants owner John Mara and Giants general manager Joe Schoen walked through the possibility of Barkley leaving in free agency, which of course ended up being the case.
The clip has become referenced constantly anytime anyone speaks about Barkley’s terrific first season in Philadelphia. So much so that the Hard Knocks: Offseason product is now reportedly in jeopardy of being cancelled, as teams have become incredibly skeptical of allowing as much access into front office moves as the Giants gave to the public this past offseason.
This past season, there have been instances where Barkley wasn’t exactly humble when it came to the Hard Knocks clip. Most notably, Barkley referenced Mara’s comments regarding how he would “lose sleep” if Barkley ended up on the Eagles in an Instagram ad for a sleep-aid product.
However, this time around after the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory, Barkley spoke quite positively of his time with the Giants, thanking the organization for giving him his start in the NFL.
“That clip doesn’t really display the relationship I have with that organization from top to bottom,” said Barkley. “They are the people who brought me in. After the game, so many guys and people from the organization reached out to me. They were super happy, one for my birthday and to see me hold that Lombardi Trophy up. Because they know the hard work that I put in. So yeah, that clip is in the past and I’m happy to be an Eagle. I look at it as like Marshall Faulk, one of my favorite running backs. He played for the Colts but he is remembered as a Ram. I’m just trying to be remembered as an Eagle.”
.@saquon reacts to the viral Hard Knocks clip before joining the @Eagles. #FallonTonight #SBLIX pic.twitter.com/PmxZepXsnP
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) February 12, 2025
It is of course far easier for Barkley to put this once-public quote from Mara behind him considering he had one of the best seasons of any running back ever and achieved his dream of becoming a Super Bowl champion.
But still, Barkley could have just as easily roasted John Mara just like everyone else has. So credit to him for finally closing his chapter with the Giants organization in a positive way.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.