The Philadelphia Eagles are not who we thought they were. After years of following a fairly predictable approach to roster building, general manager Howie Roseman punked the pundits by adding Saquon Barkley.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the former Giants running back reached an agreement with the Eagles on a three-year, $37.75M contract ($26M guaranteed) that could pay him up to $46.75M with incentives.
Surprise. Philadelphia hasn’t had a big name, big money running back since the team traded LeSean McCoy to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso in 2015. Committee backfields have always been Roseman’s thing but for the money he’ll be getting, Barkley should expect a heavy workload in 2024.
In 2023, running backs Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott and D’Andre Swift averaged 103.4 yards per game as part of the NFL’s 23rd-ranked rushing offense, a low number considering Swift finished as the league’s fifth-leading rusher with 1,049 yards.
Last year, the team’s $5.2M spent on running backs ranked 20th among NFL teams. Coincidence? Apparently, the Eagles didn’t think so.
Entering the offseason with only Gainwell signed to the roster, Roseman knew he needed to upgrade the position and with a lack of high-end running back talent in the 2024 NFL Draft, went with the best free agent available.
Barkley’s numbers aren’t what they were when he won the 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but it’s hard to argue with a player that’s averaged 98.7 total yards per game in six NFL seasons.
Of course, he missed 25 games over that span but after a torn ACL cost him all but two games of the 2020 season, Barkley appeared in 43 of a possible 51 games that included 1,650 total yards and 10 scores in 2022.
Barkley was born in New York and grew up as a Jets fan but moved to the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania as a child and played collegiately for Penn State from 2015-17. He’s no stranger to the area and should feel right at home playing at Lincoln Financial Field.
Once he signs his contract, he’ll become the highest paid running back in Eagles’ history while Philadelphia will be off and running in 2024.
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