The former Giants star isn’t expecting to get booed Sunday at MetLife Stadium
After playing his first six seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants, Saquon Barkley returns to MetLife Stadium for the first time as a visitor on Sunday afternoon.
While it will be different seeing him playing in New Jersey for another team, Barkley spoke about his return to MetLife, stating how he’s approaching this as just another game.
“I’m going to treat it the same way I always treat it. I always have the mindset every game – and every game is special; you never know when your last one is going to be,” he said Wednesday at his NovaCare Complex locker before practice. “Obviously, there is some history there, for sure. Especially going back there, it will be interesting. I don’t have an exact answer – I’ll probably have a better answer later in the week.
“It’s more of a balance of how I want to attack it. Obviously, I’ll be locked in and focused, but I don’t want to make it more than what it is. I’ve done that before and I didn’t like the outcome of that. It’s going to be a fun environment. It’s football, I love being part of something like that, especially being part of the history of these two teams going against each other, especially in this division. It’s a big game, so I’m excited for that.”
Earlier in the week, Barkley made a comment that he didn’t expect to be booed by his former fanbase, but he elaborated more on the quote leading up to Sunday’s game.
“I said I didn’t expect to get booed, and I was meaning more, like, this rivalry is so much bigger than what happened in the offseason between me and the Giants and ‘Hard Knocks’ (HBO show). It’s been going on for a very long time, so I’ve been on the other side, so I know how Giants fans feel. I don’t know what the environment is going to be like, but I’m excited. As a player, as a competitor, you gotta welcome those environments, those moments.
“Whatever it is, I hope it gives me a little extra juice and I can go out there and perform and help my team win.”
In the ‘SB Nation Reacts’ poll this week, 61% of Big Blue View voters said they did not think Barkley should be booed by Giants. fans.
Daniel Jones echoed that sentiment, as he believes his former teammate won’t be welcomed back nicely by the Giants faithful:
“I mean, if I had to guess, probably not warmly, but, yeah, I mean, it’s a competitive game. It’s Eagles versus Giants, so big divisional game,” Jones said.
While Jones understands the situation of Barkley’s departure, he also spoke about what he did for the franchise during his tenure.
“I mean, he did a lot for this franchise, worked really hard, was a great leader and teammate in this locker room,” Jones said. “So, I mean, I think that’s important to keep in mind. On Sunday it’s about that game, it’s about that day and playing well, winning the game.”
