One of the NFL’s elite running backs, Saquon Barkley, has signed a lucrative three-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. After weeks of negotiations, the RB finally opted for the Eagles.
However, in a recent podcast, Barkley revealed that the Eagles were not his first choice and he was considering another NFL team before NFL free agency.
Saquon Barkley claims Texans interested him before Eagles move
Saquon Barkley appeared on the New Heights podcast, where he shared that he thought he would sign with the Houston Texans and considered playing alongside C.J. Stroud.
“Probably the team that had my first interest was Houston,” Barkley said.
The RB further explained that he even started communicating with the Texans QB and some other members before free agency.
“I got to communicate with C.J. (Stroud) and a couple of those boys, but this was before when you could actually put offers on the table and talk to teams.”
However, Saquon Barkley was destined to sign with the Eagles as he finalized a $37.5 million contract with the team. The RB shared that when free agency began, he got to know about the Eagles’ interest in him, which fascinated him.
“I probably never imagined myself playing for Philly six years ago, but I get to come back to Pennsylvania, my family is from Pennsylvania, my lady, our kids, grandmas all that is from Pennsylvania and we’re already close and we can even get to get closer and get a chance to compete.”
Saquon Barkley is excited about moving from watching the Eagles from afar to playing for them.
“I got to admire them from afar, admire what (Jason) was able to build over there and get to be part of that culture. It was a no-brainer for me,” the RB explained.
While Saquon Barkley is excited and happy about his move to the Eagles, it wasn’t easy for the Giants, as revealed by their owner, John Mara.
Giants owner John Mara speaks on Saquon Barkley Eagles trade
The Giants owner John Mara recently talked about the trade of Saquon Barkley. He shared that the team didn’t trade Barkley last season because they were trying to win, and they wanted to re-sign him.
“I hate trading guys right at the trade deadline because it almost signals that you’re giving up on the season,” Mara said Monday. “And Saquon, I was still hoping to be able to sign him at some point. It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to do it.”
The general manager of the team, Joe Schoen also praised Barkley stating that the team wasn’t willing to lose him.
“He was one of our better offensive players, and we weren’t giving up,” Schoen said. “We still wanted him to go out there and perform for us.”
John Mara further added that he trusted coach’s decision and let go of Saquon Barkley, but he wasn’t happy with the outcome.
“That was kind of an ongoing discussion through the year that it could come to this, and they knew my feelings that I was hoping it didn’t come to this. But at the end of the day, I know sometimes every once in a while I read, ‘Oh, he’s meddling, he’s meddling.’ No. We’ve run our organization the same way for many, many years.”
He added that the Giants made a “pretty good offer” to Barkley last year, but they felt their resources needed to be allocated elsewhere.
John Mara expressed sadness at seeing Barkley leave but also respected the RB’s decision to accept the best deal available, even if it meant playing against him twice a year. In the upcoming season, the Giants’ best player will be playing against them, but this move was necessary for Saquon Barkley.
