PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — As the Philadelphia Eagles enter NFL free organization, they have bounty of gaps on the list to address.
Among them is the running back position, where two of the team’s backs from 2023 — D’Andre Swift and Boston Scott — will become free specialists once the modern alliance year starts on Wednesday, Walk 13.
Recently, rumors have developed interfacing the Eagles to Modern York Monsters running back Saquon Barkley — the best running back in a stacked free office lesson that highlights Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, Tony Pollard and others.
The intrigued between the Eagles and Barkley is clearly “mutual.”
But does it make sense for the Falcons to possibly grant Barkley the big-time contract he’s been looking for? Common chief Howie Roseman generally doesn’t spend a parcel of cash on running backs, but perhaps he puts more chips on the table given the expanded cap space. In the event that Barkley were to form the trip down I-95 south to Philly, it would be closer to domestic. He played football at Whitehall High School, which is within the Lehigh Valley, before featuring at Penn State University.
Does it make sense for the Hawks to sign Barkley? Let’s run through the stars and cons below.
Aces
By signing Barkley, the Eagles would be including one of the finest players within the alliance and one of the foremost gifted running backs within the NFL.
Barkley, 27, could be a legit three-down back who can run between the handles and be a risk to capture passes out of the backfield. In 14 diversions final season with the Monsters, Barkley hurried for 962 yards — 3.9 yards per carry — and pulled in 41 catches for 280 yards and 10 add up to touchdowns.
Since entering the alliance in 2018, Barkley has 2,100 getting yards and 288 gatherings, which both rank within the beat five among all running backs, per StatMuse. He would be a game-changer for the Falcons and the most excellent running back in Philly since LeSean McCoy. Barkley’s getting numbers have gone down since his first two NFL seasons, but he’s still a major danger to capture passes for contradicting defenses.
Past Falcons running backs like D’Andre Swift and Miles Sanders performed well in their parts, but Barkley may be a level over and among the upper echelon of NFL running backs.
Pairing Barkley with quarterback Jalen Harms within the running game would be a bad dream for groups. The Eagles weren’t as successful in the quarterback running diversion final year as they were in past a long time likely due to Harms not being 100% and a stale offense, but Barkley’s expansion may give a spark.
Indeed with Jason Kelce in retirement, Barkley would be playing behind one of the finest hostile lines within the NFL in Philly — a extravagance he never had in Unused York.
Barkley has demonstrated he can perform on lesser groups with Daniel Jones, hell indeed Tommy DeVito, as his quarterback and an unremarkable gather of receivers.
Envision including him to a expertise position bunch with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.
Cons
Marking Barkley to an costly contract, and conceivably a long one, more often than not isn’t a astute commerce decision in today’s NFL.
For as skilled as Barkley can be, the Falcons might basically hold up and let the showcase come to them to sign another talented running back to a much cheaper running back and get comparable generation. Or indeed snatch a tailback within the NFL draft.
The Falcons have way as well many holes to fill, particularly on defense, to prioritize Barkley in free organization and give him a enormous contract. Spotrac ventures Barkley to gain a three-year, $29.9 million bargain in free organization. On the off chance that that’s the cost the Winged creatures will need to pay, they’re likely not doing it. Possibly for one year? But that would still be a lot to pay for a running back. Barkley is likely seeking out for a longer-term contract he may never concur to with the Giants.
Since the 2020 season, the Eagles’ whole running back room hasn’t accounted for more than $5.2 million in cap space each year, per Spotrac, so paying Barkley would be a philosophical team-building alter for Roseman. Final season, the Falcons let Sanders walk in free organization after he was looking for a greater contract and supplanted his generation with Quick and a committee approach.
The Falcons have too demonstrated they do not require an elite running back like Barkley to succeed within the running amusement. If Hurts returns to his normal self within the running game in 2024, he’s a plus-one in Philly’s ground attack and makes the backs around him better.
Since Harms took over as the Eagles’ beginning quarterback, the group has positioned within the beat 10 each year in surging, including No. 1 in 2021, in spite of the ground amusement not being as successful in 2023.
Barkley has moreover had his reasonable share of wounds amid his six-year NFL career. He as it were played two diversions within the 2020 season after tearing his ACL but has since played 13, 16 and 14 recreations the past three seasons.
Barkley hasn’t played a full season since he was a rookie in 2018 and managed with an lower leg harm within the 2023 season.
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