NFC Notes: Saquon Barkley, Bobby Wagner, Commanders, Eagles, Giants

Commanders

Commanders LB Bobby Wagner is excited to be a mentor and pass along knowledge to younger players on the team.

“I think you just share the knowledge,” Wagner said, via Commanders Wire. “I was very fortunate to have the people that I reached out to give me that knowledge back. So, I think it’s only for me to do the same for the people coming up after me. So, anybody that reaches out and wants advice, I’ll give it to them because that’s what they did for me.”

Eagles

Eagles DE Brandon Graham said RB Saquon Barkley has been “looking good” in practice and may be coming to Philadelphia with a chip on his shoulder after how things ended with the New York Giants. 

“He’s been looking good, man. It sucked that things went the way they did. Saquon is definitely in a good place right now. It sucked for the Giants fans because that’s like us losing our top guy,” Graham said, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “I understand business is business, but I know Saquon definitely is looking forward to this season.”

Graham thinks Barkley is going to rub people the wrong way by joining an NFC East rival, similar to the backlash Terrell Owens received when signing with the Cowboys following his time with the Eagles. 

“That’s gonna be like how, you know how [Terrell Owens] went to Dallas and got booed?” Graham said. “It’s going to be one of those things. I know with [Barkley] he probably didn’t want to have to make that decision. We’re loving it because we definitely got a good player. Great dude, too. Just can’t wait to see what he does this year.”

Graham believes Barkley has a “home run hitter” capability when he finds an opening. 

“You just can’t let him hit the hole, that’s the biggest thing,” Graham said. “Once he hits the hole, he’s a home run hitter. I know for Saquon, he always was the guy you don’t want to see with daylight.”

Giants

Giants DE Kayvon Thibodeaux discussed the team’s mentality heading into the 2024 season which is set to kick off in Week 1 against the Vikings. 

“Resiliency. Physicality. Speed. We’re gonna play with all the things we played with back in the day,” he said via NFL Media’s Bobby Kownack. “This is the 100th year anniversary of the Giants, so hopefully we can let those superpowers from our ancestors come and take over.” 

• Thibodeaux has no hard feelings about RB Saquon Barkley signing with Philadelphia. “It’s a business at the end of the day, I never really took it hard. I reached out to him. This is a not-for-long league, so you’ve got to get paid when you can. And you can’t miss out on any dollars. We’ve seen it before with past contracts and past players, so I am happy he was able to get the contract he was seeking.” (The Rich Eisen Show)