Working 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 begin 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 12 months, when he was coming off the Giants’ forgettable 6-11 marketing campaign.
“It makes me understand 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 an excellent job of hiding it. I believed I did an excellent 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 understanding to how I envisioned them understanding and it’s what I labored for.”
Barkley didn’t land a long-term contract with the Giants from the autumn of 2022 up till the membership retained his rights for the 2023 season through the franchise tag. Final February, It turned clear that Giants basic supervisor Joe Schoen would not match Barkley’s asking worth 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 way of 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 Beneficial Participant Award, which shall be handed out subsequent week. DraftKings Sportsbook had the 27-year-old second among the many betting favorites at +260 odds to assert Tremendous Bowl MVP Award honors as of Friday morning.
“There are a number of nice issues we’ve completed to date as much as this,” Barkley added about his excellent season, “however in the event you don’t get the job carried out 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 received’t take into consideration that [right now] in the event you come up quick.”
On Friday, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Eagles as 1.5-point underdogs towards the Chiefs.
