Saquon Barkley has a lightness to his step now that he’s changed teams, going from the Giants to the Eagles. Who cares if he flipped NFC East allegiances?
The running back says he “feels like a rookie again,” as the Eagles, his new team, started phase three of OTAs. There no longer is a need to worry about contract negotiations. And with the switch in zip codes, Barkley goes from a team at the bottom to one that should compete for a Super Bowl berth.
“Biggest thing that struck me is my first 7-on-7 huddle you see A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts,” Barkley said. “It’s not a bad group to be out there with. That’s not even including the offensive linemen.
“We’re all just coming in, buying in, trying to learn the playbook,” he said. “Learning the system, trying to get better each day. You know there is a lot of talent, a lot of talent before I got here. I feel I can only add to that. At the same time, you can’t look too far. That’s the beauty of it. That’s the beauty of coming in every single day, working with each other, pushing each other.”
The Eagles would love Barkley from his rookie season. Back in 2018, when the Giants made the former Penn State star the second pick of the draft, Barkley rushed for 1,307 yards to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Barkley has three 1,000-yard seasons on his NFL resume. Last year, he gained 962 in 14 starts. The Giants offensive line, statistically, was one of the worst in the league. They especially couldn’t pass block, with Giants quarterbacks getting sacked 85 times.
The Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley last year. The running back then held out of workouts until he received a better deal. This year, the Giants let him go in free agency. After getting some blowback from his old fans, Barkley said NY never made an offer for him to stay.
Instead, he signed a three-year deal with the Eagles. It’s worth $37.75 million. The value of the contract places him fourth amongst running backs, behind Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara and Jonathan Taylor.
The Eagles, on paper, should be a Super Bowl contender. They earned a spot against the Chiefs in February, 2023. But for whatever reason, Philly lost five of its final six games of the regular season, then bowed out of the playoffs in the wildcard round.
Still, the Eagles are in a far better spot than Barkley’s old squad.
“I’m excited to be here with this team,” Barkley said. “I feel like we can do something special. That’s a ways, ways away, so just continue to come in one day at a time and try to get better.”
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