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With the start of free agency almost upon us, there’s one player who keeps getting mentioned as someone to watch for the Philadelphia Eagles: superstar running back Saquon Barkley.
Usually, when there’s smoke, there’s fire, and right now, the Barkley-to-Philly rumors are about to start a full-on inferno. USA Today’s Tyler Dragon named the Eagles as one of six teams “rumored to have interest in Barkley.” Then, multiple other analysts confirmed that interest.
With 2023 starter D’Andre Swift also headed for free agency, Philly is going to address the running back position one way or another, and right now, Barkley’s name is one that keeps getting mentioned.
Interest Between Saquon Barkley & Eagles Is ‘Mutual,’ Per Reports
PFF has Barkley projected to sign for $12 million per season, and the Eagles don’t typically spend that type of money on the running back position. The two-time All-Pro for the New York Giants could be an exception, however.
A few days after Dragon’s report, longtime Eagles beat writer Howard Eskin of FOX 29 News went on the 94WIP Morning Show and said this:
“I didn’t believe it, but I checked it and they do have interest in Saquon Barkley,” Eskin said on March 7. “And I’m saying wait a minute, you can’t pay a running that kind of money. I think they’re trying to work on something that would not be fully guaranteed. He’s not going to get—a ton of money.”
Then, another reporter chimed in, noting Barkley also had interest in heading to Philadelphia.
“That interest is mutual. Saquon to #Eagles is a real possibility,” Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post wrote on X on March 7.
While Barkley is projected to net $12 million annually, the market may determine a different amount. The veteran back could also be willing to take a tad less in order to play for a perennial contender like the Eagles.
This Could Be a Match Made in Heaven
The 27-year-old Barkley has had his fair share of injuries, the most serious of which was a torn ACL suffered Week 2 of his 2020 campaign. He had a down year the following season in 2021, rushing for 593 yards and 2 TDs in 13 games.
The veteran RB rebounded in a big way in 2022, earning second-team All-Pro honors after finishing with 1,650 all-purpose yards and 10 rushing TDs (4.4 yards per carry) in 16 games.
Barkley finished with 962 yards on 247 carries (3.9 yards per carry) and 8 rushing touchdowns last year, also adding 280 yards and 4 TDs through the air. He hasn’t come close to the 2,028 all-purpose yards he gained as a rookie in 2018, but he has amassed over 1,240 total yards in every season other than his two injury-plagued ones (2020 and 2021).
Barkley has never played behind a line like the one he would have in Philly, which he would also likely find appealing. He’s a more dynamic player than Swift, and would also be a big step up from Swift in pass protection. Swift would often get overmatched in a hurry, whereas Barkley is one of the league’s best blocking backs.
He’ll be one of the pricier backs set to hit free agency, but Barkley still has a ton to offer. Will the Eagles be the benefactors? Stay tuned.
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