If New York Giants fans thought last year's Hard Knocks: Offseason series was tough to watch, they haven't seen anything yet, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. A new Prime Video NFL documentary focusing on Saquon Barkley is about to rip the bandage off all over again.
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The film drops Thursday, just hours before Barkley returns to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants for the second time as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
As Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports, Barkley asked the Giants for permission to seek a trade in July 2023, the final day franchise-tagged players could sign long-term deals. Giants co-owner John Mara shut it down immediately.
"I'm not going to do that," Mara told Barkley. "That makes no sense for us. To be honest with you, it's not going to be in your long-term best interest to do that. There's no way that I would allow that at this point. You are too valuable to this franchise."
Logistically, it would have been nearly impossible for a team to trade for Barkley and sign him long term before the deadline. Still, when the Giants stumbled to a 2-6 start, they could have dealt him for value rather than letting him walk in free agency.
Instead, they stood pat. Barkley hit free agency in 2024 and signed with the Eagles, the very outcome a close friend predicted the day New York tagged him.
"This isn't Madden," Barkley said then. "This is my life."
The move worked out brilliantly for Barkley. He had the best season of his career in Philadelphia. And now, even as his production dips this year, Thursday's game against the Giants could be the spark that gets him going again.
