Saquon Barkley sounds thrilled about leaving Giants for Eagles 

Running back Saquon Barkley spoke with reporters on Wednesday about making his much-discussed offseason move from the New York Giants to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

"It’s definitely faded," Barkley said about any awkwardness related to the change, per Chris Franklin of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "I don’t think it felt weird because of being with the Giants before being with the Eagles. I was at one place for six years and put on one jersey for six years, but it’s fun. It’s a fresh start, and I feel like a rookie again, getting to know everybody here, learning about the culture, and buying into the culture. I’m feeling like this is home."

Barkley originally joined the Giants as the second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft but failed to sign a long-term contract with that club from the fall of 2022 through this past March. New York secured his rights for the 2023 season via the non-exclusive franchise tag and seemingly showed little interest in signing him following this past campaign before he received a three-year, $37.75M contract that could be worth up to $46.75M with $26M fully guaranteed from Philadelphia. 

With the Giants, Barkley played in a single playoff victory and in two total postseason games that occurred in January 2023. He now features for an Eagles team that made six playoff appearances across the past seven seasons and that lost Super Bowl LVII to the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2023. 

"I love being here," Barkley continued. "You come in, and you buy into the culture. ...When you have some of your better players working hard and pushing each other, everybody else has no reason but to follow."

Barkley mentioned that the Philadelphia offense led by star quarterback Jalen Hurts is "not a bad group to be out there with" during practices. According to ESPN stats, the Eagles finished the 2023 regular season ranked eighth in the NFL with 354.4 offensive yards per game and seventh with 25.5 points scored per contest.

"We’re all just coming in, buying in, trying to learn the playbook, learning the system, and getting better each day," Barkley said about working with new Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

Without Barkley, the 2023 Eagles went from 10-1 to 11-6 before they fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Philadelphia seemingly hopes that Barkley will help the club avoid such a collapse with his performances on the field and his contributions behind the scenes as a proven leader. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Eagles tied for third among the betting favorites at +700 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX.