March 11, 2024

Report: Eagles are signing RB Saquon Barkley

The Eagles are signing former Giants running back Saquon Barkley.

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports

Soon-to-be Eagles RB Saquon Barkley

The Philadelphia Eagles have made a major splash at running back, signing Saquon Barkley, formerly of the New York Giants, according to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Former Giants RB Saquon Barkley reached agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million contract that could be worth up to $46.75M and includes $26M fully guaranteed at signing, per sources.

Barkley now beats the franchise tag number and has a maximum… pic.twitter.com/d2TnEWhaQ0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024

Barkley was a rookie phenom after the Giants made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, racking up 2028 yards from scrimmage and 15 TDs, taking home NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. In 2020, however, he tore an ACL, missing 14 games, and he had a down year in 2021 coming off of that injury.

In 2022, Barkley had a comeback season, gaining 1650 yards from scrimmage and 10 rushing touchdowns while serving as the best offensive weapon on a Giants team that surprisingly went to the playoffs.

In 2023, the Giants franchise tagged Barkley to his dismay. He still showed up for training camp anyway and played the good soldier. During the season, the Giants cycled through three ineffective quarterbacks, and there were times when the Giants' offense was so bad that they just gave the ball to Barkley over and over. In 14 games, he carried 247 times for 962 yards and 6 TDs, with a yards per carry average of 3.89. While 3.89 yards per carry isn't good, it was a hell of a lot better than all the other Giants' backs, none of whom rushed for better than 2.82 yards per carry.

His career stats:

Saquon Barkley	Rush	Yards	YPC	TD
2018	261	1307	5.0	11
2019	217	1003	4.6	6
2020	19	34	1.8	0
2021	162	593	3.7	2
2022	295	1312	4.4	10
2023	247	962	3.9	6
TOTAL	1201	5211	4.3	35

And as a receiver:

Saquon Barkley	Rec	Yards	YPC	TD
2018	91	721	7.9	4
2019	52	438	8.4	2
2020	6	60	10.0	0
2021	41	263	6.4	2
2022	57	338	5.9	0
2023	41	280	6.8	4
TOTAL	288	2100	7.3	12

While not as explosive as he was earlier in his career, Barkley is still a complete back who can run inside, run outside, catch passes out of the backfield, and pass protect. Given the out-of-character money they spent on a running back, the Eagles no doubt view Barkley as a threat both as a runner and as a receiver, the latter of which was missing almost entirely from their offense in 2023. In Philadelphia, Barkley will have a chance to run behind a good offensive line for the first time in his career.