Saquon Barkley could not play, but he still wanted to throw a block for his quarterback.
Video circulated following Sunday’s Giants loss in Miami that showed Barkley yelling at a fan, which is generally out of character for the star running back.
According to Barkley, the fan was yelling at Daniel Jones, who had sustained a neck injury and was sitting in the medical tent on the sideline.
“You have a fan just ‘mother–king’ him. That just doesn’t sit well with me,” Barkley said after he was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice with an ankle injury. “He’s helpless. He can’t do nothing.”
Barkley and Jones have been teammates since 2019 and are the faces of the organization.
Barkley has seen Jones play through several injuries and is now seeing Jones trying to shake off the neck injury in time for Sunday’s game in Buffalo.
Barkley made clear that he takes no issue with Giants fans booing the team, but taunting an injured Jones crossed a line.
“I get it. I was a fan of football before,” said Barkley, who added his ankle is improving but did not know if he would play Sunday. “That’s not in my makeup, in my character to boo and do stuff like that. But, fans, if you don’t like the product that we’re doing out there — we got to give them a product to be happy about.
“Go ahead and boo. Or go ahead and cheer. That’s part of the game. But have sympathy at the same time. He’s a human being. Out of all people, it shouldn’t be 8.”
Barkley said he usually does not find it difficult to hold his tongue around fans.
He knows the market, and he knows the expectations of the fan base.
“We live in New York and New Jersey, we play for the New York Giants. That’s expected,” Barkley said. ‘They want a team that’s going to go out there and win. So whether it’s booing, whether it’s cheering … I’m OK with that.”
