Star back leaves Giants for NFL rival
Since the New York Giants took him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft, Saquon Barkley maintained a public position that he wanted to spend his entire career with the team. He’ll see them on the opposing sideline twice a year now instead.
Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a threeyear, $37.75 million contract that could be worth up to $46.75M and includes $26M fully guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon. ESPN was first to report the agreement.
The two-time Pro Bowl back will remain in the NFC East. He effectively confirmed the signing with a social media post of two bald eagle emojis.
Barkley joins Philadelphia as a rare big-money running back for a franchise that has typically avoided them under executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman’s watch.
The Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley prior to last season, and the two sides were unsuccessful in negotiating a long-term contract extension. New York gave him a $2 million signing bonus on top of the $10.091M salary he commanded from the tag. Barkley could have been tagged again, but the Giants allowed him to hit the open market.
Barkley has shown the promise of a No. 2 pick and why he was viewed as a future dynamo of the league while also battling injuries, running behind a porous offensive line and playing for three different head coaches over six seasons in New York.
He won the 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year after finishing that season with 1,307 rushing yards, 2,028 yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns. Barkley had 1,003 yards on the ground in 13 games the following year. He suffered a torn ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 season.