Despite Saquon Barkley not being suited up for this weekend's game against the Giants, the Eagles' star running back managed to find a way to stick with his former team.
In a series of new ads for the sleep aid Unisom, Barkley trolled the Giants by poking fun at the now-infamous moment from “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants” involving team owner John Mara.
“If Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I might have a hard time sleeping, I'll tell you that. Like I said, I'm just being honest.” Mara said in the offseason. he told general manager Joe Schon during a conversation. It was recorded by an HBO camera crew.
In an ad posted to Barkley's Instagram on Thursday, he appeared to be toying with the Giants owner's remarks.
“I'm Saquon Barkley. I hear you guys are having trouble sleeping lately,” the running back said in the ad. “I have a big game coming up. I should get some rest. Why don't you try Unisom? I don't need it. But maybe. I'm going to sleep like a baby.”
In another ad posted Thursday, Barkley appears to poke fun at his former team again, referencing this year's first 2,000-plus yard rushing season of his career.
“I've heard that some people can't sleep,” Barclay said. “So I wrote you a lullaby: 'Rock-a-bye, baby, wake up in bed with 2,000 thoughts running through your head. It's hard to lose sleep because of soccer. But not for me. Good night everyone.”
The release of the social media campaign came just days before the Giants and Eagles were scheduled to meet for the second and final time this season, but both clubs were heading in very different directions.
In an interview with Sports Business JournalClaudine Patel, Unisom's chief marketing officer, said the company reached out to Berkley's representatives after the Mara clip from Hard Knocks went viral, adding that Berkley was “pretty excited about the idea.” “I am doing so,” he said.
“We just capitalized on the opportunity of a moment where it went viral and has a lot of meaningful connections with our brand,” Patel said. “This could be a really ironic and fun way to leverage social and leverage his fandom.”
While it's a joke, this ad probably hits home a little bit for the Giants considering what's happened since Barkley signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal with the Eagles in the offseason.
Barkley has been a dominant force on the ground for the Giants' NFC East rivals, with 2,005 rushing yards this season and 101 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. There is.
Still, Barkley is expected to miss Sunday, so it's likely he'll be available soon.
If Barkley had played, he would have had a chance to set a record against his old team, which Barkley said was “special.”
“It would have been special to do that against the Giants, but it wasn't for the reasons you probably think,” Barkley told reporters Wednesday. “At the end of the day, all I felt was love and respect for the guys over there. There are a lot of trainers, coaches and strengthmen who helped me with my ACL and helped me with my injury. And without those guys, I wouldn't be the player I am today. So it was like a full-circle moment.
“At the end of the day, that's not in God's plan. We had bigger things in mind. We have a chance to rest and prepare for the playoffs.”
