A traitor or a treasure? How do Giants fans feel about Saquon Barkley's NY legacy?

Saquon Barkley’s legacy with the New York Giants is … complicated.

Ask Giants fans about their team’s ex-running back — and we did — and you’ll get a hundred different answers.

Had he stayed a “Giant for life,” obviously that wouldn’t have been the case. Heck, had he left the Giants for the Chicago Bears or Houston Texans, two teams that pursued him in free agency this offseason, even that would have made things simpler.

But Barkley now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, perhaps the Giants’ most hated rival, and that makes any discussion of his legacy extraordinarily complicated.

After being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Barkley thrust himself into superstar status by racking up a league-leading 2,028 scrimmage yards and winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. In what seemed like an instant, Barkley became the face of one of the most historic and iconic franchises in sports.

At one point, his Giants jersey was one of the most popular in the NFL. And for good reason. At his best, Barkley is one of the most exciting players in the league.

During his six years in New York, he totaled 7,885 scrimmage yards, 52 touchdowns and two Pro Bowl nods.

The Giants laid down the gauntlet for Saquon Barkley: Go prove what you’re worth on the open market.

He did — and now he’s an Eagle.

Scoop City sat down with Barkley this summer to discuss his exit from New York.

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— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 16, 2024

Of course, it wasn’t all roses for Barkley in New York. The Giants made the playoffs only once during his tenure, and he suffered multiple injuries over that time that either kept him off the field or sapped his productivity when on it.

Still, he was a team leader, a five-time captain who loved New York and didn’t want to leave. And that’s largely where things get complicated.

He and the Giants could never get aligned on a contract extension that would have kept him in town. Plenty of factors were at play. Pride, ego, stubbornness. Dan Duggan documented them all in his excellent retrospective on how Barkley’s dream of being a “Giant for life” unraveled.

But with Barkley’s return to MetLife Stadium on Sunday as a member of the Eagles, we also wanted to get a little introspective.

How will the fans who watched and supported the running back over his six-year stint in New York receive their former star? Will it be cheers or jeers?

Saquon Barkley says he doesn’t expect to be booed when he returns to New York on Sunday for Eagles vs. Giants. pic.twitter.com/AICvNMUaH6

— The Athletic NFL (@TheAthleticNFL) October 16, 2024

Ahead of last Sunday night’s game, I roamed the pregame tailgates in the MetLife Stadium parking lots in hopes of finding out how fans felt. It was somewhat revealing that in just one hour, I had already spotted probably 20 Barkley jerseys, though many with alterations made to the nameplate on the jersey’s back. The most common update? Handwriting “Singletary” (as in Devin) on a scrap of tape. It was an easy adjustment to support the running back the Giants signed in free agency to replace Barkley.

We also put out a survey for Giants fans to complete so we could properly gauge the temperature around Barkley’s looming return.

More than 1,000 responses later, it’s fair to say Barkley left a “complicated” footprint. And that’s not just me saying that. That word was used a dozen times by fans asked to describe his legacy.

So let’s break down their reactions into three groups: those who miss Barkley, those who believe he’s a “villain” and those who say they don’t care about him anymore.

‘We do miss him’

Chris Ciejka and his son, John, were two of the Giants fans sporting Barkley jerseys in the parking lot Sunday night. Along with John’s cousin, Andrew Ciejka, the family had a lot of appreciation for Barkley’s tenure with the franchise. Chris believed Barkley “didn’t get a fair shake” with the Giants and that with a better offensive line in front of him, Barkley would still be with the Giants and prospering.

Andrew pointed out that with where the Giants were in terms of their rebuild, it made sense for a veteran back like Barkley to go to a team that’s “ready (to win) now.”

“I never wanted to get rid of Saquon, obviously,” Andrew said. “I think he’s the best running back in the league. But at the end of the day, the NFL is a business. We do miss him as Giants fans. That’s the biggest thing. We do miss him. We still represent his jersey. Also, it’s because of the person, the player that he was on and off the field as well. So he’s very respectful. He gave us a lot of great memories. But now, hopefully, when he comes to our town, we go over there, we put a little bit of a beatdown on him.”

Here’s more from other fans who shared similar appreciative thoughts about Barkley’s Giants legacy in an anonymous survey: 

• “(It’s) tragic. He might have been one of the best, but he never got to run behind a competent offensive line. I’m a lifelong Giants fan, but how can you blame him for leaving? It’s been more than a decade of hapless team ownership. He always handled himself with class and deserves to be on a well-managed team. Good luck, Saquon.”

• “Giants brass did him dirty!”

• “Heartbreaking. They couldn’t get the right pieces in place to make the most of his generational talents.”

• “He could have been the next Tiki Barber. I won’t forgive the Giants brass for giving Jones a big contract before Barkley.”

• “No price should have been too high for Joe Schoen and John Mara to keep him a Giant.”

‘There is no legacy’

Upon learning Singletary wasn’t playing Sunday because of an injury, Giants fan Thomas O’Brien opted to write in “Rolle” on his taped-over Barkley jersey, in honor of Super Bowl-winning cornerback Antrel Rolle. Oddly, his ode to the champion paid off, as Rolle rang the opening kickoff bell in MetLife Stadium later that evening. O’Brien, who bought his Barkley jersey during the running back’s rookie season, wasn’t “heartbroken” about Barkley’s departure, but he also didn’t feel great about the way the running back left. He believes Barkley leaves a “very tainted” legacy.

“I can’t be mad at Saquon,” O’Brien said. “He got a contract offer. It’s a great deal. Got paid more. He’s going to a team with a better line than we had at the time. … Especially him going to Philly, you can’t enjoy or like the guy, but he’s from Pennsylvania, so I give him half a chip there. But at the same time, I’m a New York fan and I live in New York now, so I don’t like the guy anymore.”

Giants fan Ishraq Sultan said he had nothing else to wear Sunday, which is why he was wearing his Barkley jersey. But he wasn’t happy about Barkley’s departure either.

“There is no legacy,” Sultan said. “He just left to join a rivalry team.”

Once again, here’s what other fans with similar thoughts had to say: 

• “He was a Giants superhero turned villain.”

• “Tainted. Great player. But Philly is a deal-breaker. He will not be receiving a warm reception in New York.”

• “He’s not a NYG legend if he retires in another uniform.”

• “If he left for any other team outside of the NFC East, he would have had a place with the franchise. There is not a legacy to be held by him at all. That is reserved for true Giants legends, and he is not one of them.”

‘I didn’t care at all’

Giants fan Jason Deutsch was with a group of friends in Barkley jerseys, but he was wearing a “56” in honor of Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor. Deutsch spoke more about the decision to draft Barkley to begin with, and he was more indifferent to the current Barkley discourse.

“Now that he was a free agent and our team was probably in a rebuilding process, it didn’t make sense to pay him what he got on the open market,” Deutsch said. “My thought was, ‘Good for him and good for the Eagles,’ but it would have been crazy for the Giants to pay him that contract.

“The fact that it was the Eagles, I know for a ton of fans it was like, ‘Oh, anyone but the Eagles! It’s hard to stomach.’ I didn’t care at all. … So I love Saquon Barkley, but I don’t care at all that he’s not a Giant anymore. He wasn’t worth that contract.”

When it comes to Barkley’s legacy, Deutsch believes there isn’t much to say. “He was a good player with the Giants,” he said. “And that’s really it.”

A handful of fans from our survey felt the same way:

• “Meh, no Super Bowl, no nada, so whatever. Bring on the next running back.”

• “Very solid player who gave his all despite weak offensive line support. He did a lot of good off the field, too, and for lack of a better word, it’s unfortunate he moved on. But it was a business decision, and you shouldn’t overpay for an RB.”

• “He was the best player on some bad Giants teams. He played hard and represented the franchise well. The Giants were right to let him walk with where they were in the team-building process. He wanted to get paid, and the Eagles paid the most. It was the right decision by both sides.”

(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)