Carl Banks wants Giants fans to cool it on Saquon Barkley.
Banks, the legendary linebacker for Big Blue, spoke on the “Bleav in Giants” podcast that he co-hosts with Bob Papa about how he will still be rooting for Barkley on the Eagles, and his belief that some of the fan base’s criticism of the running back was over the top.
“Saquon Barkley has put this team on his back. He’s a New Yorker, once a Giant, always a Giant,” Banks said.
“And that fits him. And I hate the effing Eagles. I do. And I’m going to root for Saquon Barkley for 15 weeks. I’m going to wish him love and success for 15 weeks. The other two weeks, I hope he gets two yards. And if they see him in the third week, I hope he gets less yards than that.
“Other than that, the kid has been everything that you would want a star player to be within your organization and outside of your organization. And, you know, again, I’m not singling out all fans but some of the behavior, some of the rhetoric towards you.”
Former Giants running back Tiki Barber jokingly said on WFAN that Barkley is “dead” to him after signing with the Eagles on a three-year deal worth about $38 million with $26 million guaranteed. Barkley ended up firing back at Barber.
For more than a year, the Giants did not similarly engage Barkley on a multi-year deal at numbers that high.
On his podcast, Banks understood how Giants fans could think of Barkley as a “traitor” for joining an NFC East rival, but told them to hold off on “personal attacks”.
“I mean, I get it. You can be critical of him. You can call him you can call him a traitor if you want because that’s what fandom is,” Banks said.
“But some of the personal attacks — understand he’s in his twenties. He’s somebody. He’s got a daughter … And that’s hurtful stuff, folks. And understand this. Would you want someone to do that? Go to your son’s job. Somebody would go to you and call you all these types of names because you changed jobs. It ain’t like he didn’t put out for you. He put this team on his back.”