The Philadelphia Eagles made the best move of the offseason last year.
Adding superstar running back Saquon Barkley into the mix clearly was the right move. He tallied over 2,000 rushing yards in the regular season and had a chance at breaking the league's all-time single-season rushing record. Instead, he rested in Week 18 and has looked rejuvenated in the playoffs.
Barkley had 119 rushing yards against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round, 205 rushing yards in the Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Rams, and 118 rushing yards in the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders. On top of that, he has five rushing touchdowns in the playoffs, including three in the NFC Championship Game.
The Eagles certainly look smart for bringing him to town. While this is the case, it seems pretty clear Philadelphia is where he wanted to be. The New York Post's Ryan Dunleavy reported that Barkley may have turned down two larger offers in order to sign with the Eagles.
"After nearly two years of haggling over a contract with the (New York Giants) then discovering that his market valuation was correct at the start of free agency, Barkley decided that chasing Super Bowl rings close to his childhood home was worth not picking the highest bidder and landing further from contention," Dunleavy said. "Barkley turned down at least two bigger offers to sign a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles, league sources said.
"Those other offers, whispered in league circles, led Giants general manager Joe Schoen — who didn’t make any offer last offseason even though Barkley said he’d give his original team a chance to match what he was going to sign — to momentarily think that the Eagles were 'out,' as HBO’s 'Hard Knocks' revealed."
Barkley has been a revelation for the Eagles and with one more win, he will complete one of the most dominant seasons by a running back in National Football League history.
