Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux reacts to Saquon Barkley signing with Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham raised eyebrows when he said last week he knew that certain people associated with the New York Giants "are p----d about" the fact that the Eagles signed former Giants running back Saquon Barkley in free agency.

Giants pass-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux understands such transactions are simply part of life in the NFL.

"It’s a business at the end of the day," Thibodeaux said about Barkley's departure during a recent appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," per Bridget Hyland of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "I never really took it hard. I reached out to (Barkley) … This is a not-for-long league, so you’ve got to get paid when you can. And you can’t miss out on any dollars. We’ve seen it before with past contracts and past players, so I am happy he was able to get the contract he was seeking."

Thibodeaux joined the Giants as a 2022 first-round draft pick and was part of the squad that earned a playoff berth and a road postseason win thanks largely to the contributions of Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones. While Jones signed a four-year contract worth up to $160M in March 2023, Barkley later inked what was essentially an altered franchise tag to play for the Giants last season.

After New York finished this past campaign at 6-11, Thibodeaux somewhat controversially said he felt "like Saquon should have got paid first" via a long-term deal instead of Jones. Less than two months after Thibodeaux offered those comments, Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75M contract that could be worth up to $46.75M with $26M fully guaranteed to join the Eagles.

By most accounts, the Giants seemingly had little interest in giving Barkley the type of multi-year agreement he wanted this offseason.

"When you have the team’s greater good in mind. . . it’s just about the long term," Thibodeaux added during the show segment. "Depending on how they view the long-term contracts and the way they want to build the team, it may or may not fit in it. Even (when) you look at me, right? We just paid Brian Burns, so me trying to — within the next couple of years — get a big contract, it may or may not be in the best interest of the team long term."

Paying a 27-year-old running back made all kinds of sense for a win-now team like the Eagles. The Giants, meanwhile, could be less than a year away from blowing things up and, thus, understandably elected to spread Barkley's salary-cap hits elsewhere.

In the end, those decisions could ultimately benefit both clubs.