The New York Giants were in Detroit to play the Lions in their second preseason game, and Lions legend Barry Sanders was in attendance.
Before the game, Sanders met the Giants’ No. 2 overall pick, Saquon Barkley. He then went on to wish Barkley a great career on Twitter (except when he plays against Detroit, of course). After the game, Barkley responded, shouting out the living legend and calling him the GOAT for good measure.
It was a pleasure to meet you! ? https://t.co/RpbdkKtias
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) August 18, 2018
Barkley is right. When it comes to running backs, Sanders is arguably the best to ever play the game. The Hall of Famer finished his career third on the all-time list in rushing with 15,269 yards, but he achieved that in just 10 seasons, a significantly shorter career than the likes of Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton.
After the game, Barkley was starstruck. “It was awesome. It was an honor and a blessing,” he said of Sanders. “He’s definitely up there with the likes of Jim Brown and the all-time greats.”
He was a little disappointed about one thing however:
Saquon Barkley has a Barry Sanders action figure that he got as a kid at home. Last night he was mad he forgot to bring it to Detroit. “I could have had him sign it!”https://t.co/CzHGBzr0z9
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) August 18, 2018
That’s too bad for Saquon! But meeting the real thing has to be good enough.