ORLANDO, Fla. — The Eagles shocked everybody this offseason after they signed a free agent working again to a top-of-the-market deal.
And on the NFL’s annual league conferences in Orlando, common supervisor Howie Roseman lastly obtained to clarify why he signed Saquon Barkley.
“I feel, for us, it’s onerous to search out particular gamers at any place,” Roseman stated. “We expect Saquon’s a particular participant and we predict he’s a particular particular person. And whenever you’re looking for these guys, they’re onerous to search out, particularly on the open market.
“You then put into the dynamic about … has the pendulum swung up to now at this place? The man touches the ball 300 occasions a yr, hopefully. There’s not plenty of different ability place gamers which can be touching the ball that many occasions and have that impact.”
The working again place has been devalued on the open market within the NFL for a number of years and the Eagles have been on the forefront of that. But when they have been searching for a means so as to add a difference-making offensive ability participant, they could have achieved that by signing Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal.
As an alternative of paying D’Andre Swift or Tony Pollard round $8 million per season, the Eagles opted to hit the highest of the market with Barkley, who’s an undoubtedly particular participant when wholesome.
In fact, this deal comes with some inherent danger. Barkley isn’t previous however he’s 27 and has the fifth most offensive touches within the NFL over the past three seasons.
The Eagles have considered all that, although.
“Nicely, he’s not 30, 31. The man goes to be 27 this season,” Roseman stated. “We clearly regarded on the workload. I feel that that’s a good level. … However the participant trains unbelievably and he’s a freak. We see that in his testing numbers and his physique, you see that in his GPS pace. And so we consider within the participant and we predict that primarily based on the sources and the place you may put sources and primarily based on the sources that go at that quantity within the league, that this made plenty of sense for us.”
When he’s at his greatest, Barkley is an incredible participant. There’s a purpose he was the No. 2 choose within the 2018 class and his two Professional Bowl seasons have been elite. He’s additionally a extremely well-rounded participant too. He’s the kind of again who can bounce but in addition pummel and run defensive gamers over. The Eagles will welcome that type in 2024. He may move defend and line up anyplace as a receiver.
Possibly it’s unfair to check this signing to the 49ers’ acquisition of Christian McCaffrey however that transfer so as to add an elite again has utterly modified the dynamic of the offensive in San Francisco. The Eagles should be hoping for the same output from Barkley.
Roseman on Monday pushed again in opposition to a story that the Eagles haven’t paid huge for working backs. His two examples? A contract Brian Westbrook signed earlier than Roseman was even GM and an extension for LeSean McCoy within the 2012 season.
So … the most effective examples Roseman might give you have been each effectively over a decade in the past and have been contracts for homegrown expertise. It is a clear departure from the final decade. Roseman clearly thinks Barkley is price it.
We’ll discover out quickly sufficient if he’s proper.
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