Saquon Barkley Makes Bombshell Admission About Why He Left The Giants

The parting of ways between the New York Giants and star running back Saquon Barkley has played out in a public way over the last few weeks on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”

And while Giants GM Joe Schoen tried his best to make it seem like he wanted to keep the two-time Pro Bowler around by asking him to let the Giants match any offer he got during free agency in a phone conversation prior to the start of free agency, Barkley told a different story in a teaser video for The Athletic’s “Scoop City” podcast, which drops on Tuesday.

“It was over after that phone call, in my opinion,” Barkley told Dianna Russini. “I never, in my heart, truly believed that they were going to match it, or they only wanted me for a lower price. So, no matter what, I probably wasn’t going to go back.”

Barkley ultimately signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Giants seemingly had no intention of matching, even if Barkley had given them the opportunity to do so.

Barkley also debunked Schoen’s assertion that the Giants made a good-faith effort to keep him, admitting the team never even offered him a contract after the season ended.

“Hard Knocks” also made Schoen’s true feelings about Barkley known. One clip showed him telling several front-office execs that quarterback Daniel Jones “isn’t getting paid to hand the ball off to a $12M running back.”

Another clips shows him stating it took 10 years off his life dealing with Barkley’s contract negotiations the previous season when he wanted to work out a long-term deal after New York franchise-tagged him.

Related: Brian Daboll Shows Off Weight-Loss Transformation at Giants 100 Event