Saquon Barkley offered some advice to Daniel Jones after the NBA's brutal Week 1 loss.
The former Giants running back told reporters Thursday that he had words of encouragement for his old quarterback following Big Blue's 28-6 loss to the Vikings last weekend.
“I talked to him,” Barkley said, “I'm really good friends with DJ. Obviously he wasn't playing how he wanted to. I just told him to play free and do what he does best.”
Jones struggled during the loss, completing 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions (including an awful six-interception).
The MetLife Stadium crowd booed the $160 million quarterback during and after the game.
A few days after the game, Vikings outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard said he and his Minnesota teammates sympathized with Jones' poor performance.
“We started to feel a little bit sorry for him because it's completely taking away from him everything he wants to do,” Greenard said on “The Power Trip Morning Show.” “Oh, it's good to be on the other side of that. And it's our job to not be on that side.”
Barkley offered a completely different opinion than another former Jones teammate, Kyle Rudolph, who said he doesn't know Jones as well as he did a few years ago.
“The Daniel Jones we saw on Sunday is not the Daniel Jones we saw when we led the team to the divisional round of the playoffs,” Rudolph said on “Up & Adams” on Thursday. “That's not the player I played with when I was there one year. His confidence just seems to be totally gone. How can you blame him?”
“Every time he goes out there he's fighting for his life.”
Barkley, meanwhile, was dominant in his Eagles debut, rushing for 109 yards with three touchdowns and two receptions for 23 yards in Philadelphia's 34-29 win over the Packers.
