You know that sound the tree allegedly makes in the forest we’re not supposed to hear if we’re not there?
It wasn’t Tiki Barber or Saquon Barkley. They’re definitely making sounds.
The former New York Giants running backs – generations between them – are in a bit of a spitting match over what was inferred by Barber’s comments Monday on his WFAN radio show.
Barber apparently took issue with the fact that Barkley left the franchise to sign a deal with Philadelphia, although the Giants are the ones who opened that door for Barkley to do so, and Barkley – though oft-injured – appears, at least outwardly, to have given everything he could to the team that selected him second overall in the 2018 draft.
“He’s dead to us now. He’s dead to us. You’re dead to us, Saquon,” Barber said on-air. “Good luck. You’re dead to me.”
WFAN host and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber (above) went tongue-and-cheek on Monday. Saquon Barkley was having none of it. (Photo courtesy of THE NEW YORK POST)
Now, Barber said all this with a smile and laughed.
Barkley, apparently, didn’t think it was all that funny.
He responded on X – the former Twitter.
“lol yup you’re the prime example of loyalty to a team.. I got the deal I wanted, secured more gm which wasn’t given to me before,” Barkley wrote. “… so if fans are gonna hate me for that so be it! But I never turned my back on my teammates and always had theirs.
“”@TikiBarber you been a hater since I got to New York … and all the “Dead to me” talk don’t smile in my face when you see me.”
Boy, those Giants reunions, if they have any, are gonna be fun, huh?
Barkley is only 27 years old and played his college football at Penn State. He grew up just over an hour away from Philadelphia.
Last season for the Giants, again, playing through injuries, he ran for 962 yards and had six touchdowns on 247 carries, about 3.9 yards per carry, and also had 41 catches for 280 yards and four scores, averaging about 6.8 yards a catch.
In his career, Barkley has 5,211 rushing yards and 35 scores on 1,201 carries in 74 games, has made 288 catches for 2,100 yards and 12 scores in those games, and has fumbled the ball only four times, losing just three of them – on all of those touches.
He is No. 4 on the Giants’ career rushing yards leader list.
Barber spent his entire 10-year career with the Giants, rushing for 10,449 yards and 55 touchdowns on 2,217 carries, about 4.7 yards a carry. His best season, rush-yards wise, was the 2005 season, when he ran for 1,860 yards, although he ran for just nine touchdowns (he had ran for 13 the year before).
He also had 586 catches for 5,183 yards and 12 scores in his career.
Barber is the Giants’ all-time rushing leader.
