NFL Exec Feels Giants Owner Would’ve Re-Signed Saquon Barkley but Avoided ‘Meddling’

The New York Giants had a disastrous season opener in a 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but former G-Men running back Saquon Barkley’s stellar debut with the Philadelphia Eagles made things worse.

Barkley recorded three total touchdowns to help lead the Eagles to a 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers on Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Following the Giants’ loss to the Vikings, some wondered if the team regrets letting the star running back walk in free agency.

“My feel is [team owner] John Mara, if not for Hard Knocks, would have put his foot down [to stop Barkley from leaving], but he didn’t want to be perceived as meddling,” a long-tenured exec from another team told The Athletic’s Mike Sando.

During the filming of Hard Knocks, Mara was seen discussing Barkley’s free agency with general manager Joe Schoen.

“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” Mara said at the time. “Just being honest. I’ve been around enough players. He’s the most popular player we have by far.”

Later, Mara looked unhappy as he left Schoen’s office when it was officially revealed that Barkley was joining the Eagles.

New York will now have the tough task of trying to stop Barkley twice a year during its two NFC East matchups against Philadelphia, which surely will be tough for Mara to watch.

“The owner is thinking, ‘Barkley has been one of our best players for years, the players on the team respect him and I don’t want him to beat us twice,'” another exec told Sando. “But the fact of the matter is, the Giants aren’t very good and they may lose to Philly twice anyway.”