Saquon Barkley says viral ‘Hard Knocks’ clip ‘saved’ him, and more from his ‘Pardon My Take’ interview

The season hasn’t started and Saquon Barkley is already the center of attention — from declining President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his national sports council to joining the Pardon My Take podcast crew ahead of the Eagles’ first preseason game Thursday.

Barkley joined Dan Katz and Eric Sollenberger to discuss his relationship with New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen, his go-to team in the Madden NFL video game, and success with the Eagles organization.

“The thing that I’ve learned coming here, I wanted to be a Hall of Fame type of player, but this organization is outstanding,” Barkley said. “From top to bottom, the type of people that they have. Like, every section you can think of — whether it’s coaches, staff, or the training room — they’re just unbelievable people. It’s cool winning the Super Bowl and breaking records, but to be able to have myself attached to this organization means even more.”

Here’s everything you missed from Barkley’s Pardon My Take appearance …

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By now, everyone has seen the viral Hard Knocks clips from last year of Giants owner John Mara and general manager Schoen discussing Barkley’s future in New York. Ultimately, Schoen didn’t want to use the franchise tag on the running back, letting him test free agency and eventually sign with the Eagles.

When asked about his relationship with Schoen, Barkley made it clear that there aren’t any hard feelings between them. Barkley had nothing but nice things to say about his former organization.

“It’s funny because you would think from social media that there’s this big beef with me, Joe Schoen, the Giants,” Barkley said. “In reality, I still talk to them here and there. I got to see all of them before the game last year to end the season where I didn’t end up playing. … They were super happy for me for rushing for 2,000 yards the week prior. It’s a business. The NFL is a weird business, obviously. I’m not a fan of that side of it when it comes to the money side. But those guys were a big reason why I was able to get back.”

Barkley believes the viral clip put him in more of a positive light.

“I’m kind of happy though, it saved me,” Barkley said. “Because people thought that I just [left], you know what I mean. You have fans that are just blinded by it, and they just say, ‘Oh, he just left.’ But, you got to see that, yes, we had a negotiation process the year before, but that year they gave me the opportunity to hit the open market which was the right thing to do by the Giants. A lot of people don’t talk about that.

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“So, for Joe Schoen and all those guys to be like, ‘The right thing to do by him is to let him test the market,’ and I gave them the opportunity to match it. Obviously, they felt that I wasn’t worth what they thought that number was. And it’s the best thing to ever happen to me. I’m in Philly, I’m with Howie [Roseman], I’m with Big Dom and all these guys. I got the best offensive line in football, we just came off a Super Bowl win, and things are continuing to go great.”

Barkley’s right. Things have been great for the running back. He’s a Super Bowl champion. He earned the NFL offensive player of the year award. He rushed for over 2,000 yards. He earned an ESPY for Best NFL Player and his backward hurdle earned an ESPY for Best Play. He also secured a spot on the cover of Madden NFL 26.

“Madden is just part of the culture of football,” Barkley said. “And just growing up, you want to make it to the NFL but you think about being a 99 overall. You think about being on the cover of Madden, being in Madden in general. So, my life has been super, super amazing.”

When it comes to playing the game itself, Barkley treats it like a business.

“I play Madden in a weird way, right?” Barkley said. “I guess it’s not really that weird. But to me, I play franchise mode. I go on, I take a team, I’ll trade all of their great players and get as many draft picks as I can and then draft random guys and kind of make it a rebuild.”

Is he trading any of his teammates in the game? The answer is no. Instead of playing with the Eagles in Madden, Barkley sticks to using the New York Jets or the Los Angeles Rams. Barkley grew up a Jets fan, though he says he’s not anymore.

After Barkley’s successful season with the Eagles, he signed a two-year contract extension worth $41.2 million — making him the highest paid running back in NFL history. When asked if the running back position is making a comeback, Barkley had a quick response.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley advocated for Lane Johnson to join him in Madden’s exclusive ‘99 Club.’ It worked.

“I don’t think running backs ever left, in my opinion,” Barkley said. “I think it was just something that people had some fun with, I guess. There was one off season. And they didn’t want to pay certain guys and they had the tag at their advantage and I think looking at both sides, it’s a smart thing for them to do. But it’s football. You’ve got to be able to play great defense and you’ve got to be able to run the ball.”

Barkley won’t give himself full credit when it comes to his own success.

“When you run the ball, people just think about the running back position,” Barkley said. “It takes all of us. You just seen the two guys out here [Lane Johnson and Cam Jurgens], they’re a big product of that, but our offensive line, our tight ends, our scheme. You don’t rush for 2,000 yards by accident and it takes a group to do that. You need to run the ball well and play great defense to be able to compete at a high level.”