Giants legend addresses beef with Saquon Barkley amid Eagles move

New York Giants legend, CBS Sports NFL analyst and WFAN radio host Tiki Barber expanded on his newfound feud with running back Saquon Barkley amid Barkley's free-agency move from the Giants to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

"Our job is to entertain, to inform, and sometimes get a little bit visceral, because that’s how the fan is," Barber explained during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," per the Barrett Sports Media website. "And they want to express themselves but they don’t often get a chance to call in and talk about it, so we do it for them. And that’s how Giants fans were feeling about Saquon Barkley. I just happened to be the messenger that got the shrapnel from Saquon when he decided to respond to the one-day story." 

Barber previously warned Barkley that even considering going from the Giants to the Eagles was "insulting to his Giant history and legacy." 

After it was learned on Monday that Barkley had come to terms on a contract with Philadelphia, Barber remarked during his WFAN show that the 27-year-old was "dead" to him and to Giants fans. 

Barkley responded via social media and said Barber had "been a hater since I got to New York." The 2018 first-round draft pick also referenced how Barber became an enemy among Giants fans during the 2007 season when the retired running back famously criticized head coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning while working for NBC. 

Barkley used X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to tell Barber to not "smile in my face when you see me" following this latest supposed controversy. Barber was able to laugh off that comment while speaking with Patrick. 

"I smile at everybody," Barber noted. "It’s part of the job. It’s part of the reaction that comes from athletes who think the media is always against them. But the reality is Giants fans love Saquon Barkley. It just felt like it wasn’t going to work out and now we have to worry about him running all over us for the next three or four years down in Philadelphia. And that pains us. It really does."

Barber seemingly is wrong about Giants fans still "loving" Barkley considering the two-time Pro Bowl selection came to an agreement with the Eagles early into the NFL's legal tampering portion of free agency. 

Fair or not, Barkley and other professional athletes should realize rivalries are real for paying customers and also for former players such as Barber.