Eagles dodge potential draft pick punishment just days before the NFL Draft
An innocuously-intended comment from Penn State head coach James Franklin has the Philadelphia Eagles under investigation for potentially tampering with Saquon Barkley.At one point, there was a chance the matter could be resolved before the draft and the likely punishment would come in the form of an Eagles draft pick – if they were found […]
An innocuously-intended comment from Penn State head coach James Franklin has the Philadelphia Eagles under investigation for potentially tampering with Saquon Barkley.
At one point, there was a chance the matter could be resolved before the draft and the likely punishment would come in the form of an Eagles draft pick – if they were found guilty, of course.
Well, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, both the Eagles and their fans can breathe a sigh of relief, for now. That's because the NFL's investigation will continue past draft week.
Franklin said Barkley told him about the alleged sales pitch Eagles GM Howie Roseman personally gave the former New York Giant in hopes of getting him to move to Philly. The only problem is teams are only allowed to speak with agents during the legal tampering period – not players.
"To come back and be able to play within the state, in Philadelphia, he [Barkely] said that was one of the first things Howie said to him on the phone, as part of his kind of sales pitch to him," Franklin told reporters on March 13. "Not only is it the Philadelphia Eagles and that, but obviously, the connection with Penn State and the fanbases, as well."
Barkley attempted to clear things up afterward, but Franklin's comment was still enough to warrant the investigation.
“Coach Franklin, I think he kind of misinterpreted it,” Barkley said."The truth was the sales pitch of how many Penn State fans are Philadelphia Eagles fans, that was through my agent [Ed Berry]. My agent told me that."
We will provide more updates once they come through.
