Welcome home — Eagles land Saquon Barkley on three-year deal

Saquon Barkley is coming home.

Less than an hour after they agreed to terms edge rusher Bryce Huff from the New York Jets, they added a more significant name out of East Rutherford on a three-year, $37.75 million contract that could be worth up to $46.75M and includes $26M fully guaranteed at signing.

Barkley now beats the franchise tag number and has a maximum average-per-year salary of $15.833M, which would be the second highest for a running back in NFL history and the highest in Eagles history.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news.

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 @AdamSchefter.

Barkley now beats the franchise tag number and has a… pic.twitter.com/vPeqafyFnB
— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) March 11, 2024

Barkley attended Whitehall High School near Allentown and lived as a youth in Bethlehem, where the Eagles held training camp back in the day. He was a star up at Penn State playing in the same backfield as former Eagle Miles Sanders.

Barkley was selected by the New York Giants with the second overall selection in the 2018 draft. He had a historic rookie year, with 1,307 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, a 5.0 average, and 91 receptions for another 721 yards and four more touchdowns. His 2,208 yards as a rookie are the third-most in NFL history

This is very out of character for general manager Howie Roseman, who has not signed any running back to a long-term contract since LeSean McCoy‘s five-year, $45 million deal back in 2012.

Barkley is a generational talent who turned 27 last month and has been weighed down by the New York Giants, who only made the playoffs once in Barkley’s six seasons.

He has dealt with injuries because of MetLife Stadium’s terrible turf and the Giants’ subpar offensive line. But he still had a monster season just two years ago, with 1,312 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, a 4.4 average, and 57 receptions. Despite injuries that have made him miss 21 games since 2020, Barkley has 5,211 rushing yards and a 4.3 average.

He also has 288 catches and 47 total touchdowns since his Pro Bowl rookie season in 2018.

Now imagine these stats while teamed up with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, Dallas Goedert, and the Eagles’ offensive line. Barkley is another major weapon for the Eagles and new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

The Eagles targeted Barkley and ended up signing him because he can do much more than just run the ball. They are paying for a running back and a wide receiver. It is exactly what they wanted.

Barkley’s career has kind of been up and down since his historic rookie season. But Roseman and Eagles fans are not concerned about it. This time around, he will be doing his work behind one of the best o-lines in the NFL, even without Jason Kelce.

The only other running back the Eagles have under contract is Kenneth Gainwell, who has one more year on his rookie contract. D’Andre Swift, who made the Pro Bowl for the Eagles last season, signed earlier Monday with the Chicago Bears on a three-year, $24 million deal.