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Saquon Wants to Sign with C.J.'s Texans; Will Houston Pay $36M to Giants Free Agent?

Saquon Barkley Wants to Sign with C.J. Stroud's Texans; Will Houston Pay $36 Million to New York Giants Free Agent?

Mike Fisher

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There is good news for the Houston Texans as they are suddenly a "landing spot,'' with Saquon Barkley reportedly "targeting'' Houston as his future home as we enter NFL free agency.

It's colleague Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston, citing league sources, who is reporting that the New York Giants standout is focused on the Texans as his "top potential destination.”

Saquon Barkley and the Texans

But beyond that factoid and his blossoming relationship with Texans "recruiting coordinator'' C.J. Stroud, there is one more chapter to the story that, if it all comes true, needs to be addressed ...

Is Saquon - or Austin Ekeler or Derrick Henry or Josh Jacobs or any of the other star free agent backs about to become available - "worth'' $12 million APY?

That is the smart projection being made by many, with Pro Football Focus projecting Barkley to be on the verge of receiving a three-year deal worth about $36.8 million.

Do the Texans have the cap room to do such a thing? Indeed, as colleague "TexansCap'' breaks it down to the details that suggest Houston has a whopping $70 million in cap room.

Is Barkley worth a large slice of that cap pie? Is any running back?

Barkley Being Recruited by C.J. Stroud?

We have argued that a healthy Barkley, properly utilized, could threaten San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey's title as the NFL's best running back. Of course, the "if-healthy'' part of the equation is beyond anybody's control ... and he has struggled in that area with the New York Giants.

Barkley, 27, was the second-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and could figure as a sort of "final piece'' to a championship puzzle for a Texans team that shocked the NFL with its division title and playoff berth in 2023.

He fits as a player. Does he fit as a salary-cap eater?

“What’s the cost associated with this player?'' GM Nick Caserio said this week, speaking generally about Houston's approach. "So this is really what free agency is about.''

And we're on the verge of discovering whether Texans free agency is "about'' Saquon Barkley.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the Texas-based author of two best-selling books on the NFL.