ORLANDO, Fla. — “Sick.”
That is how John Mara described to Saquon Barkley what it felt like to see the star running back leave the Giants.
The sentiment was relayed in the form of a text message after it became abundantly clear that Barkley, who had been going and going, was finally going to be gone.
“Pretty quickly after the signing period started,’’ Mara, the Giants’ co-owner, said Monday at the NFL’s annual league meeting. “I told him that I was sick about losing him, told him he was a class act, and it was a very nice exchange we had.’’
Saquon Barkley signed with the Eagles shortly after free agency began. AP Mara did not want to see Barkley leave the Giants, but he did not stand in the way when general manager Joe Schoen decided it was unwise for the team to allocate major funds for a 27-year-old running back.
This was tough for Mara to accept.
He has 14 grandchildren and each of them has a Barkley No. 26 jersey.
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“It was tough breaking the news to them,’’ said Mara, who expressed similar familial reservations a few years ago when Odell Beckham Jr. was traded away. “Everything he did for us on the field, off the field, he was a class act in every respect and I hated to see him leave.’’
That Barkley went to the NFC East rival Eagles (on a three-year deal for $37.75 million) left Mara particularly queasy.
“Let’s be honest, I would have preferred it be out of the division,’’ Mara said, “but I have enormous respect for him and people that are criticizing him for doing that to me are way off base. These guys, their careers are so short, I understand you got to take the best deal that’s out there, that’s what he did. He grew up in the Pennsylvania area, so I don’t begrudge him that. I’m not looking forward to having to play against him twice a year but I’ll always have enormous respect and appreciation for him and what he did for us.’’
The Giants made Barkley an offer at the bye week during the 2022 season and again after that season, coming up with $23 million in guaranteed money on a three-year contract.
Schoen did not budge when Barkley, coming off a career-high 1,312 rushing yards, turned down the offers.
It became clear that Schoen and the Giants were going to move on.
“Whether that ends up being the right decision or not remains to be seen,’’ Mara said.
The Giants could have tried to trade Barkley during the 2023 season when it became apparent the team was going to finish with a losing record and not come close to challenging for a playoff berth.
They did not make any calls and Mara was fine with that.
“I hate trading guys right at the trade deadline because that almost signals you’re giving up on the season,’’ Mara said. “I was still hoping we would be able to sign him at some point. So I don’t regret that. It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to do it. From his standpoint, at least we allowed him to pick where he wanted to go, and I think we kind of owed him that, to tell you the truth instead of sending him somewhere where maybe he didn’t want to go.’’
John Mara said that it was tough to tell his grandchildren about Saquon Barkley’s exit. Bill Kostroun for the NY Post Mara said he also exchanged a text and then had a phone conversation with safety Xavier McKinney, who left after four years with the Giants for a four-year, $67 million deal with the Packers.
“It’s an unfortunate part of the business, you lose guys that you really like and are really good players,’’ Mara said. “But players come and go, and you have very few chances to have a Michael Strahan and an Eli Manning. It just doesn’t happen that often in this business.’’
