‘He’s going to be great’: Tiki Barber explains Saquon Barkley beef
"He’s still in his prime, and he’s going to rush for 1,500 yards, and probably 400 of those will come against us," said former Giants running back and current CBS analyst Tiki Barber.
It’s been five months since Saquon Barkley swapped his blue Giants jersey for Eagles green, and Tiki Barber doesn’t have hard feelings about the move. But that doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.
“He’s going to be great,” Barber told The Inquirer. “That’s why we hate it. If he were washed, we wouldn’t care. He’s still in his prime, and he’s going to rush for 1,500 yards, and probably 400 of those will come against us.”
In March, Barber and Barkley got into a media squabble over some tongue-in-cheek remarks Barber made on 94.1 WIP sister station WFAN in New York City, where he cohosts the afternoon show alongside Evan Roberts.
“He’s dead to us now. You’re dead to us, Saquon,” Barber said after news broke Barkley was signing with the Eagles.
The dismissing tone earned a rebuke on social media by Barkley, who called Barber “a hater” during his time in New York and warned him not to “smile in my face when you see me.” Barkley later told Jason and Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast he was annoyed that as a former player, Barber used his platform at WFAN to inflame fans rather than educate them.
“First of all, the Giants didn’t even offer me” a contract, Barkley said. “I’m not saying you got to have loyalty to me … but you are an ex-NFL player, an ex-NFL athlete.”
Barber occupies an odd perch in the sports media world. Monday through Friday, he’s channeling the anger of New York sports fans on WFAN, where he’s been a host since 2022 after a decade on CBS Sports Radio. On Sundays, he’s calling games on CBS alongside Andrew Catalon, and this year he’s expanding his role to a full 17-week schedule. Barber is also a mentor to the Giants, where he spent his entire 10-year playing career as a running back and holds the franchise records for most career rushing yards (10,449) and rushing yards per season (1,860 in 2005).
Barber said all three jobs converged in a perfect storm of misunderstanding with Barkley.
“Sports talk radio is a fan forum,” Barber said. “It’s evolved into entertainment, emotion, and speaking on behalf of the fan. It’s easy for a player to get caught up in the bit, and not take it for what it is, which is just fun.”
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WIP host Spike Eskin helped Barber channel his inner fan during his stint as WFAN’s program director. He also helped Barber view sports talk radio more like WWE story lines, where story lines continue across multiple episodes and there are clear heroes and villains.
“You’re thinking about radio as daily, contained thing, but it’s really this story arc you have to kind of develop,” Barber said. “It’s not just, ‘Let’s sit down, turn on the mic and talk about the Mets getting their ass kicked last night.’ We’re consciously trying to build an arc.”
Barber said he hasn’t spoken with Barkley since Barkley signed with the Eagles (they weren’t particularly close to begin with), and their paths likely won’t cross this season. The Eagles are scheduled to play three games on CBS — Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys, and Week 13 against the Baltimore Ravens — and barring a complete collapse by the Birds, all three will be called by Tony Romo and Jim Nantz.
As for the Eagles, Barber’s hatred for the team has waned since he retired in 2006, especially since the Giants have struggled to contend for much of the past decade. Barber said he thinks the Giants will improve on last year’s 6-11 record, but isn’t sure how much they’ll be able to turn the corner with Daniel Jones under center in a make-or-break year.
“He’s a great athlete. He’s just had circumstantial injuries that makes it hard for Giants fans to be patient with him,” Barber said of Jones. “You usually know by year three if you have a quarterback … It’s year six, and we’re like, ‘Is he our guy?’”
The Eagles’ first game against the Giants is in Week 7 on Oct. 20 at MetLife Stadium. While Barkley will likely be greeted with some boos by Giants fans, he’s likely to be greeted warmly by the team’s executives.
“At the end of the day, I think [Giants owner] John Mara loves Saquon,” Barber said. “They wanted to see him stay, but not at the expense of building a better team.”