New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley attended this year’s Met Gala in May, where he met New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for the first time. It’s a meeting he won’t soon forget, either.
Brady issued a challenge to Barkley that night.
“It’s great to do it for one season, but can you do it for five? Can you do it for 10?” Barkley remembers Brady saying to him. “I’m standing there at the Met Gala ready to run through a brick wall.”
The 42-year-old quarterback certainly knows a thing or two about greatness having won six Super Bowls. What he didn’t know, though, is that the ultra-competitive running back would take his words to heart.
Barkley is coming off of an amazing rookie season in which he rushed for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns and had 91 receptions for 721 yards and four touchdowns, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. But doing it for one season isn’t good enough for Barkley. As he said, he was “ready to run through a brick wall” at the questions from Brady, implying that he is ready to do it again.
The Patriots and Giants face off on Thursday in the final preseason game of 2019, but it is unlikely that either of the two stars hit the field. Instead, they will face each other in Week 6 of the regular season and we will see if the former first-round pick can make good on his goal.
