Terry Bradshaw spoke about Saquon Barkley on FOX NFL Sunday (Image: Fox Sports NFL)
Terry Bradshaw caused a stir on the FOX Sunday set when he decided to weigh in with a personal grievance during a live segment.
The 76-year-old could not stay silent while his co-hosts discussed Philadelphia Eagles’ coach Nick Sirianni’s choice to bench Saquon Barkley against the New York Giants. With the Eagles already set as the No.2 seed, key players were being rested, leaving Barkley tantalisingly shy of the historic mark of 2,105 rushing yards – a record held by Erik Dickerson since 1984. Having experienced a similar situation himself, , who is a four-time Super Bowl champion, couldn’t resist interjecting as the debate heated up. “They didn’t give him the option,” Bradshaw said as he made his way onto the panel, prompted by host invitation.
Saquon Barkley sat out of the Philadelphia Eagles’ win against the New York Giants (Image: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
“Terry, you’ve done a really good job of not saying anything this whole segment, get over here,” Thompson said to Bradshaw. Bradshaw then seized the moment to defend his stance, suggesting that given the choice, he would’ve played for the record rather than taking a rest, reports .”They didn’t give him the option. I guess if he plays, the offensive line has to play, right, but everybody wants the week off,” Bradshaw said. “I would want the award to be honest.”
Reflecting on his time with the Steelers, Bradshaw shared an issue over missing out on a cash bonus. “I had the chance to throw for 2,300 yards one year and they sat me,” he said.
When Michael Vick joked about the target compared to modern standards, Bradshaw replied: “Yes, 2,300 Mike – that was back when football was a little tougher than it is today. I was tiffed. You wanna know why, because I had a $2,500 bonus. I was devastated.”
“They didn’t give him the option.” Terry Bradshaw has some thoughts on Saquon Barkley sitting out the final game of the season.
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Bradshaw’s missed bonus is far from the $2.5million that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield could make in incentives. At the end of Bradshaw’s unexpected rant, Peter Schrager asked: “Did you guys go all the way and win the Super Bowl that year?” To which Bradshaw answered: “We did.”
Bringing the show back to the original point, Schrager said how he believes there will be only one way to know if the Eagles made the right call. “That’s the key – if they don’t win the Super Bowl, a lot of eyes are going to be raised,” he said. “If they do it will be seen as a genius move.”
Without Barkley, the Eagles still recorded a 20-13 win over the Giants on Sunday. Their next match will be against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round this weekend.