Operating again Saquon Barkley by no means performed past the divisional spherical of a postseason match with the New York Giants from 2018 till he joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent final offseason. Barkley is on observe to start out for the Eagles of their upcoming Tremendous Bowl LIX matchup versus the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on Feb. 9.
Whereas talking with reporters on Thursday, Barkley mentioned how completely different his life is that this winter in comparison with final yr, when he was coming off the Giants’ forgettable 6-11 marketing campaign.
“It makes me notice how depressed or upset I used to be [last season],” Barkley acknowledged, as shared by Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “I believed I did a great job of hiding it. I believed I did a great job of not letting (failed contract negotiations with the Giants) hassle me. …And it’s only a good factor to be in a spot the place issues are figuring out to how I envisioned them figuring out and it’s what I labored for.”
Barkley did not land a long-term contract with the Giants from the autumn of 2022 up till the membership retained his rights for the 2023 season by way of the franchise tag. Final February, It grew to become clear that Giants normal supervisor Joe Schoen would not match Barkley’s asking value and would let the 2018 first-round draft choose attain free company.
Barkley subsequently helped the Eagles win 15 of their previous 16 video games (by the playoffs), and he completed this previous common season main the NFL with 2,283 yards gained from scrimmage. He is a finalist for the 2024 Related Press Most Priceless Participant Award, which will likely be handed out subsequent week. DraftKings Sportsbook had the 27-year-old second among the many betting favorites at +260 odds to say Tremendous Bowl MVP Award honors as of Friday morning.
“There are lots of nice issues we’ve achieved to date as much as this,” Barkley added about his excellent season, “however when you don’t get the job executed subsequent Sunday, perhaps when you’re in your 30s and 40s you’ll look again and take into consideration how particular it was, however you gained’t take into consideration that [right now] when you come up quick.”
On Friday, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Eagles as 1.5-point underdogs in opposition to the Chiefs.
