Eagles Hit Home Run with Saquon Barkley Signing

The Philadelphia Eagles will sign former New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley when the new league year begins on Wednesday, agreeing to a monster contract, unlike anything Philly GM Howie Roseman has ever given to a running back.

PHILADELPHIA - New York, New York ... a city the Philadelphia Eagles turned to not once but twice on Monday when they signed a pair of free agents most recently employed by the Jets and Giants.

First came Jets edge rusher/linebacker Bryce Huff.

Then came Giants running back Saquon Barkley.

The Eagles wasted little time adding to both sides of the ball – and breaking hearts in the New York/New Jersey area.

The weapons can be viewed as gifts to their new coordinators, OC Kellen Moore and DC Vic Fangio with both moves coming within the first three hours after the window legal tampering began at noon.

The signings cannot be officially announced until the new league year begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. 

Barkley is the real eye-opener here. Not because of the talent (two Pro Bowls) or the age (just turned 27) but the money.

Saquon Barkley will leave the New York Giants and sign with the Philadelphia Eagles / © Eric Hartline, USA TODAY

The Eagles don’t pay running backs, right? Wrong.

Somebody might want to check Howie Roseman to ensure an alien didn’t take over his body.

The Eagles general manager convinced his boss, owner Jeffrey Lurie, to give Barkley a three-year deal worth $37.5 million. It’s a deal that could swell to $46.75M and includes $26M fully guaranteed at signing.

The maximum-average salary of $15.83M would be the second-highest for a running back in free agency.

Again, what has gotten into Roseman?

Last year, his running back room included four running backs whose combined salaries came nowhere near $10 million.

The Eagles talked about an influx of new ideas when they brought in Moore to run the offense and maybe this is the trickle-up effect – new ideas in the front office. Or maybe it’s because this year’s draft class doesn’t have a bona fide superstar. 

Whatever the case, Barkley is that superstar. 

He will be the bell cow of the Eagles’ backfield, a perfect complement for quarterback Jalen Hurts, receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, and tight end Dallas Goedert, while joining Kenny Gainwell, who is in the final year of his rookie contract, in the backfield.

There had been some rumblings that Barkley would take a hometown discount since he played his high school ball an hour outside the city in the Lehigh Valley and then at Penn State. 

This was no hometown discount, though Barkley will be coming home to continue a career marred by an ACL tear in 2020, just two years after the Giants made him the second overall pick of the 2019 draft. He was limited to 13 games in 2021 with an ankle injury.

Eagles Begin Free Agency by Taking Care of One of Their Own

Barkley, considered just as good of a person in the locker room and away from the field in the community, has been fine from a health standpoint the past two years, playing in 30 of 34 possible games.

In those 30 games, he ran for 2,272 yards and 16 touchdowns while adding 98 receptions for 618 yards and four TDs.

He never had much success against the Eagles, going just 2-7 in games against them. That could be more of a knock on a Giants franchise that struggled in recent years. He averaged 4.6 yards on 138 runs with six touchdowns and 34 catches for 250 yards and another score against Philly in those nine games.

Barkley won’t have to worry about beating the Eagles anymore, but he will see his former team at least twice a year over the next three seasons – provided he stays healthy.

Either way, the Giants can’t be happy watching one of their best players leave for a hated NFC East rival.

Eagles fans on the other hand? What’s not to love about this signing?