Saquon Barkley ready to make Giants pay months ahead of time with Jalen Hurts workout

The New York Giants allowed running back Saquon Barkley, the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, to hit free agency. There's always a risk in doing that, particularly said player heading to a division rival. That's exactly what happened, as Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

At the time of the signing, a lot of Giants fans felt betrayed that the former face of the franchise would join a division rival. It certainly didn't help to see Barkley quickly change his social media profile images to edits of himself in an Eagles uniform. Then, they saw Barkley trying to get Jason Kelce out of retirement to play for the Eagles.

On Monday, Barkley posted an image on his Instagram Live of himself working out alongside his new quarterback, Jalen Hurts.

Saquon Barkley posts photo of workout with Jalen Hurts on Instagram

Since Barkley entered the league, Giants fans saw him work out alongside Eli Manning and Daniel Jones. Now, he is working out alongside Hurts as members of the Eagles. This is a weird sight to see for the Giants faithful.

Last year, the Giants opted to place the franchise tag on Barkley instead of signing him long-term. Instead, they gave the long-term deal to Jones. Barkley would not hold out of training camp, reporting on time and on a restructured one-year deal. With the Giants falling far out of playoff contention, the Giants opted to keep Barkley instead of dealing him at the deadline. This offseason, the two sides were nowhere near close on an agreement, and the Giants opted against placing a franchise or transition tag on him. The Giants reportedly never made an offer to Barkley.

Barkley admitted that he was first interested in joining the Houston Texans, as they had a need for a star-caliber running back. But the appeal of joining the Eagles, behind that offensive line, being near where he grew up in Pennsylvania, and with the contract he earned, it was too good to pass up for Barkley.

Now, Barkley will line up against the Giants twice a year, including once as a member of the road team at MetLife Stadium. It will be interesting to hear what kind of reaction he gets from the Giants fans in attendance. But one thing that can't be denied, and that's that Barkley has fully embraced being an Eagle./