Saquon Barkley took to Twitter to blast New York Giants fans Thursday night. They believed they had been given another reason to be angry at him and he urged them to get over it.
Barkley was at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia as the 76ers took on the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their first round NBA playoff series. A newly-minted member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley was there to cheer on the Sixers as they attempted to keep the series alive.
Former Giants, now Eagles RB Saquon Barkley at the Wells Fargo Center for Game 6 between the Knicks and 76ers.
Still feels weird to say former Giant when referring to Saquon after 6 years. pic.twitter.com/LL0EM4hvID
Giants fans couldn’t believe he was in attendance rooting on a rival and made a big stink about it on social media. In response to the hate he was getting online, Barkley tweeted the following.
It’s been two months… lol no way ya can still be this mad! Mf can’t even go to a basketball game 😂😂😂
After six seasons with the Giants, the two-time Pro Bowler left the franchise to join the rival Eagles this offseason. After years of attempting to get a long-term contract out of the Giants, Philadelphia handed him a three-year, $37.75 million deal and he jumped on it. Barkley grew up in Pennsylvania and starred at Penn State, so the move to Philly is also something of a homecoming.
When a Giants fan accused Barkley of bailing on New York, he had a sharp reply. The 27-year-old running back said, “Let me educate some of you fans here… I can’t bail or become a traitor if I never got an offer to come back… so I went to the organization I felt that was the best and after already being here for a month man I’m excited to be a eagle ! Go birds.”
He does have a point. The relationship with the Giants felt broken when the two sides couldn’t agree to a long term deal for more than a year. He played the 2023 season on the non-exclusive franchise tag and New York showed no urgency to lock him up. Maybe he’s right that Giants fans should hurry up and get over his departure.
Welcome to the NFL offseason, where receivers get paid lots of money (just ask Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylen Waddle and Nico Collins), the NFL continues to push for an 18-game season, the league and NFLPA discuss ways to ruin the offseason calendar and teams continue to go through their OTAs and mandatory minicamps.
So we asked our MMQB staff to answer a series of eight questions over the next two weeks. They’ll debate the best and worst moves, the most and least improved teams, the best coaching move and more.
So let’s get to the answers to today’s question as we get closer to the NFL taking a break before July training camps open.
Matt Verderame: The Dallas Cowboys NOT extending Dak Prescott.
Prescott and the Cowboys were pummeled by the Packers in the playoffs. / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Prescott is a good player. But despite talented rosters, he has won exactly two playoff games in eight seasons and never reached an NFC championship game.
Furthermore, Prescott turns 31 years old this summer. He’s not likely to get better, and even staying at the same level could be a challenge throughout the duration of what would certainly be an extension-topping contract of $55 million annually. The team around him is also eroding, even if it has major stars in Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb.
Throwing for 36 touchdowns and 4,516 yards was great last season, but rings hollow after you’re blown out by the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in your own building, partially because of two interceptions.
While losing Prescott after this season would represent a reset, so be it. The goal is trying to win a Super Bowl. Although it’s not only his failure, Prescott hasn’t made a serious run yet at such an achievement. Dallas should be ultra-aggressive and find his replacement in the next 24 months, whether in free agency or the draft, and hope that quarterback has a higher ceiling.
Gilberto Manzano: The San Francisco 49ers NOT trading Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk and Samuel are still with the 49ers despite the team exploring trade offers for both. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The 49ers fielded trade offers for star wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel because they’re well aware of not being able to pay everyone on their loaded roster, especially with quarterback Brock Purdy possibly cashing in next offseason.
But they were smart to have high asking prices for two players who have been instrumental in the team’s success the past few years. The 49ers didn’t cave to lesser offers during draft season and minimized the damage for shopping the two wideouts. Samuel attended the team’s OTA workouts, a good sign that the 49ers probably kept him in the loop with their business matters. And Aiyuk wasn’t going to show up without an extension.
So no harm in exploring options. Either quickly reload with valuable draft picks or run it back with the same cast of star players. The 49ers’ core group will get another opportunity to end the organization’s 30-year Super Bowl drought. Oh, and they added more firepower with the first-round selection of wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who could fill in if Aiyuk is traded during the summer, which doesn’t appear likely, or next year if he leaves in free agency. The good teams create options.
Conor Orr: The Detroit Lions SIGNING D.J. Reader.
Reader could have been among the best free agents this offseason. / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY
This is the kind of signing (two years, $22 million) no one is really going to talk about until mid-November when the Lions have one of the best run defenses in the NFL and Reader is mauling inferior offensive linemen en route to another artful tackle behind the line of scrimmage. I really think he was among the best free agents this offseason in terms of a player who you know is going to fit into any scheme and perform incredibly well. He’s a Dan Campbell-type of player.
Albert Breer: The New York Giants TRADING for Carolina Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns.
The Giants landed Burns from the Panthers for second- and fifth-round picks. / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Going back to the middle of the 2022 season—when Carolina turned down first-round picks in ’24 and ’25, and a ’23 third-rounder for Burns at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Rams—things were sideways for Burns in Charlotte. How could they not be? Negotiations were basically nonexistent from that point forward, the team was terrible, and Burns had to wait for his pot of gold. Because of all of that, the Giants landed him for a fraction (a second-rounder and a fifth-round pick swap) of what the Rams offered, and got him signed to a reasonable market contract (five years, $141 million) to play opposite Kayvon Thibodeaux. And they still had the second-rounder they got for Leonard Williams at last year’s deadline, along with a motivated 26-year-old edge rusher under contract for the next five years.
The NFL offseason continues on but with teams gearing up for next season we have odds for who will make the postseason.
One of the most hotly contested divisions in the 2024 season is the NFC East, which features the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles made a splash in free agency by adding running back Saquon Barkley as well as hiring former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Can the Eagles hold off the Cowboys in hopes of getting back on top of the division and make the postseason?
There will be plenty of heated races in the postseason in addition to the NFC East one mentioned above, including a crowded group in the AFC East and AFC North.
Below you will find the odds for each team to make the postseason in 2024.
There are a ton of quality teams heading into the season with the postseason in its sights.
Look at the AFC East, who have three teams projected to make the postseason in terms of implied probability greater than 50%. The Dolphins have an implied probability of 57.38%, the Bills are 62.69% and the Jets are slightly ahead, listed at 62.96%.
Elsewhere, the AFC North has three teams with heavy odds to contend for the postseason, with its longest shot, the Steelers at only +190 (34.48%). The Ravens (72.60%), Bengals (70.15%) and Browns (42.37%) all have more than a puncher's chance to make the postseason.
The NFC East race is for the division, but both are expected to make the postseason in a much weaker conference, will the two be able to hold up? The Eagles and Cowboys each have mandates to win and better hope to at least make the postseason in order to keep the status quo.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Darren Waller has yet to announce if he's going to retire from the NFL or play another season for the New York Giants. But he did make a decision this offseason—to drop a debut song and music video out of nowhere on Thursday.
Waller released a song with a full-fledged music video on YouTube called "Who Knew (Her Perspective)." The song's lyrics are mostly about healing from past relationships.
The 31-year-old Waller wrapped up his eighth NFL season in 2023. In 12 games, Waller caught 52 passes for 552 yards and one touchdown while battling a hamstring injury.
The New York Post reported in March that Waller told Giants officials this offseason that he was contemplating retirement. As of late April, Waller was still undecided about his future on the gridiron.
Waller has three years remaining on his contract. He will make over $14 million if he plays again in 2024.
