Saquon Barkley on seeing Giants legends make Ring of Honor: ‘Those are things you want to achieve’

New York Giants star Saquon Barkley is the face of the next generation of great running backs to play for the franchise. On Monday night, he got to witness some others join the Ring of Honor.

Joe Morris, Ottis Anderson and Rodney Hampton were at MetLife Stadium to be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor. 

All were among the top running backs in franchise history and three have a Super Bowl ring.

Barkley, already one of the most prolific running backs in Giants history, has racked up 3,254 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in his career. He told Fox News Digital in a recent interview he hopes to be honored in the same way once his career is over.

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Saquon Barkley (26) of the New York Giants scores a 36-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter in a game at MetLife Stadium Sept. 26, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J.
(Elsa/Getty Images)

“When I saw all those guys when we were warming up, and I saw those guys on the sideline – I want to be where they’re at. Those are goals that you set,” Barkley said. “Those are things you want to achieve. If it wasn’t for those guys, there wouldn’t be any of us right now. 

“You definitely go out and play hard and try to glorify them. But, at the same time, you see the things that they accomplish and the things that they were doing, you see them get acknowledged in the Ring of Honor and that’s somewhere you want to be as a player, especially going onto year five in New York. That’s something I will look to accomplish in my career.”

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Barkley, who is only 25, didn’t grow up watching Morris, Anderson or Hampton. But he learned about them as he researched the history of the Giants and the running back position. As a fan, he said he focused more on players like Tiki Barber, Curtis Martin and Adrian Peterson.

Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants in action against the Carolina Panthers during a game at MetLife Stadium Sept. 18, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J.
(Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

“All those guys. But I’m a big believer in you gotta know the history of your team, especially the position that you play,” he told Fox News Digital. “When I got drafted to New York, I did all the research. To meet them and see them get honored into the Ring of Honor, it’s pretty cool and, like I said, that’s something I strive to be on.”

The Giants will enter Week 4 with a 2-1 record. And, as the season churns on, Barkley will have even more responsibilities. He partnered with Courtyard by Marriott to help launch the “This is Where We Fan” program that will allow fans to potentially win the first-ever “Fansgiving” dinner at MetLife Stadium in November. Fans could also win the Courtyard Super Bowl sleepover contest.

“It’s definitely going to be a pretty unique experience,” Barkley said of the “Fansgiving” dinner.

Barkley said he was looking forward to the opportunity to give back to the fans and engage with the community. And while MetLife Stadium may not look like something futuristic like SoFi Stadium, Barkley said there are some cool features inside the building that the typical fan may not know about.

“I think it’d be cool to be inside the locker room to see where we get ready, where we get set up. To see the training room where a lot of the stuff goes down like the taping, where get into hot tubs, where we get into cold tubs and get our bodies ready,” he said.

Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants warms up before kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium Sept. 26, 2022, in East Rutherford, N.J.
(Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

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“And then I’d say probably the coach’s club, where we have a lot of fans go there to watch the game, and you can literally see where they stand at on the sideline. I’ve been there a couple times. This is a really cool, unique space. It’s an amazing environment where you can interact with people, have a drink, be able to watch the game and have a great time.”