Saquon Barkely surprised many football fans when he decided to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency after spending the first six seasons of his career as a member of the New York Giants. After all, the two teams are rivals and play in the same decision.

Fans in New York were understandably upset that Barkley left their team to suit up for a division rival, but as it turns out, maybe the Giants didn’t give him a choice.

In response to a message on social media platform X that accused Barkley of “bailing” on the Giants, the new Eagle revealed that he never received an offer to return to New York.

“Let me educate some of you fans here… I can’t bail or become a traitor if I never got an offer to come back,” Barkley wrote. “So I went to the organization I felt that was the best and after already being here for a month man I’m excited to be a [E]agle! Go birds!”

Barkley’s response probably feels like salt in the wound for Giants fans. Not only is the former franchise star happy in his new home, but the Giants didn’t even offer to keep him around, assuming Barkley is to be believed. Ouch.

Barkley got a good look at the Eagles organization as a member of the Giants as the two teams meet twice every year, and he was obviously a fan of what he saw.

“From watching them from afar, you know what this team is all about, what this City is about,” Barkley said shortly after signing with Philadelphia. “They have that mentality. They want to win. . . I know how special this place is and I know how special a player I believe I can be and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

The games between the Eagles and Giants next season were already going to be exciting, but they gained a whole new layer of intrigue as a result of Barkley defecting from New York to Philly.