Saquon Barkley revealed how close he was to signing with the Bears in free agency and the reason he chose the Eagles certainly makes sense
The free agency buzz in the NFL is always a fascinating time. The league has certain policies in place to avoid tampering with players before the window opens, but we all know it happens anyways.As soon as the negotiation window opens, million dollar deals are agreed upon in a matter of minutes. It's clear some […]
The free agency buzz in the NFL is always a fascinating time. The league has certain policies in place to avoid tampering with players before the window opens, but we all know it happens anyways.
As soon as the negotiation window opens, million dollar deals are agreed upon in a matter of minutes. It's clear some previous negotiations were taking place.
For example, last offseason when the window opened to begin talking to players, the Chicago Bears made the first splash, agreeing to a three-year, $24 million deal with free agent running back D'Andre Swift.
Even though the deal was one of the firsts to be completed, the Bears were apparently close to landing a deal with a different running back on the open market.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley revealed on Monday during the Super Bowl Opening Night that he was "pretty damn close" to signing with the Bears, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times.
We all knew there was interest between the two. During the offseason version of “Hard Knocks” with the New York Giants, Giants general manager Joe Shoen stated that the Bears were one of the teams driving up the price for the young weapon. It's believed that the Houston Texans were also involved in the Barkley Sweepstakes.
Barkley clearly made the right decision after signing a three-year, $37.75 million deal with the Eagles and the reason why makes total sense and was simple. Barkley favored the offensive line of the Eagles more than the protection he would receive in Chicago.
Behind the Eagles' front, Barkley finished the regular season with 2,005 yards and then added another 442 yards during the postseason going into the Super Bowl. Behind the Bears' front, Swift struggled to find openings and only managed to record 959 yards, including a disappointing 3.8 yards per carry.
Who knows how Barkley might have fared differently in Chicago but fans will still be upset watching him in the big game wondering what could have been. Good news is, the team has a clear goal to address the weakness up-front, which will be huge for Swift's second stint in Chicago, along with having a new head coach who's offense totaled 2,488 rushing yards during the 2024 season.
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