Dez Bryant Seemingly Calls Out Giants for Letting Saquon Barkley Go in Free Agency

Dez Bryant has been quite vocal this week, specifically about teams in the NFC East.

After Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley opened the NFC Championship game against the Washington Commanders with a 60-yard trot into the end zone, Bryant took to X in criticism of the New York Giants.

“The Giants have got to be sick; I don’t care what anyone says,” Bryant wrote.

Barkley is an MVP candidate in his first season as an Eagle after the Giants allowed him to walk in free agency last offseason after spending the first six years of his NFL career in New York.

He was 101 yards away from posting the greatest rushing season in the history of the league while the Giants ranked No. 23 overall in rushing yardage this season.

More news: Eagles Put Injured Cam Jurgens in After Landon Dickerson Gets Hurt in NFC Championship

It’s become one of the most notable management blunders in recent NFL memory as the Giants didn’t invest enough faith in the 28-year-old to commit to him financially. The relationship between the two camps broke down as Barkley worked through some injury issues in his final seasons with the Giants.

As seen on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” earlier this season, Giants owner John Mara admitted to general manager Joe Schoen, “I’m going to have a hard time sleeping if Saquon ends up in Philadelphia.”

Bryant is familiar with both teams, having played eight seasons of his nine-year NFL career for the divisional foe Dallas Cowboys in which he was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2014.

The three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver accumulated 7,506 yards and 75 touchdowns in 119 career games.

He was also critical of the Cowboys’ decision to promote offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Friday.

“Somebody is getting sabotaged,” Bryant wrote on X. “Smh.”

Schottenheimer has been with the Cowboys organization for the past three years, serving as their offensive coordinator for the last two.

During his Dallas tenure thus far, he helped transform the team into a top-five offense, leading the league in scoring in 2023. Despite these accomplishments, Schottenheimer wasn’t seen as a leading candidate for the job despite being one of few to land an interview.

Bryant’s disappointment with the decision comes after he had made his support of the Cowboys to hire Deion Sanders as their next head coach vocal.

“I hope Deion Sanders get the Cowboys coaching job!” Bryant said on X.

Bryant also voiced his emphasis on how the Cowboys should hire based on proven merit as opposed to bureaucracy, citing Washington head coach Dan Quinn’s success as an example.

“Dan Quinn turned a once-struggling franchise into a playoff contender and won his first playoff game,” Bryant wrote on Jan 12. “Until Dallas focuses on winning instead of politics, Cowboy fans should not expect success soon.”

More NFL:

Cowboys Star Calls Saquon Barkley the ‘Best Player in the NFL’

Cowboys Legend Michael Irvin Goes Off on Jerry Jones for Not Hiring Deion Sanders

For more on the Eagles, head to Newsweek Sports.