The Big Lead

Saquon Barkley made an incredible career choice by joining the Eagles

Barkley reportedly had better contract offers, but still chose to join Philadelphia.

By Matt Reed

Jan 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Rams in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Jan 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Rams in a 2025 NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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Saquon Barkley is one game away from finally reaching the goal he and his Philadelphia Eagles teammates have been waiting for all season, but that wouldn't have been possible for the former New York Giants running back without choosing to come home to Pennsylvania.

While Barkley's time with the Giants wasn't exactly successful, mostly due to the team's dysfunction at quarterback and inconsistency on the offensive line, there was always a chance that New York could find a way to re-sign Barkley before testing free agency.

That wasn't how the situation played out. The Giants didn't even make a competitive offer for Barkley to return to MetLife Stadium, and that prompted him to move to an NFC East rival.

The New York Post is reporting though that Philadelphia didn't even offer Barkley the highest contract during the offseason, with two unnamed teams willing to go bigger to bring in one of the NFL's top running backs.

Perhaps it was because he went to college at Penn State or the fact that Barkley grew up in nearby Whitehall Township, but whatever the case may be it was certainly the right decision given how historic a campaign he's put up to this point.

That's included six runs of 60-plus yards this season, while accounting for over 2,000 rushing yards and having the chance to break Eric Dickerson's regular-season record.

RELATED: Dan Snyder is furious about Washington's success

It's pretty simple. If the Eagles reach the Super Bowl in two weeks it'll be a team effort, however, that path was made much easier by adding one of the sport's elite running backs.

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