Former Giants Running Back Sign with the Eagles
While running back Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants did not have the 2023 NFL season that they wanted, finishing the regular season with a record of 6-11 and not making it to the postseason, there is no doubt that Barkley has been and still is a difference-maker for his team. In the 2022 NFL season, Barkley helped lead the Giants to the playoffs for the first time in his career and New York’s first time since 2016. He also helped the Giants win their wild-card round game versus the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in that playoff, making it the first postseason win of his career and the Giants' first postseason win since the 2011 NFL season when they went all the way to the NFL Championship with quarterback Eli Manning and defeated quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in early 2012.
From 2015-2017, Saquon Barkley played college football for Penn State University, before forgoing his senior season to declare for the 2018 NFL Draft. From the very first time he stepped on the field for the Nittany Lions football program, Barkley was a huge piece of their offense. After having a rough first game of his college career, in his second and third games ever as a college football player in 2015 he rushed for over 100 yards in both games versus Buffalo and Rutgers. Barkley’s incredible play would continue throughout the rest of his freshman year and into his sophomore year as during his sophomore year he would have his best college season ever.
He finished his sophomore year with 272 carries for 1,496 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns with five receiving touchdowns to give him 23 touchdowns in his 2016 season. By the end of his second season, Barkley had already built himself an insane athletic college resume that included having the most rushing yards for Penn State by a freshman, with 1,076 yards, and the most rushing yards by a sophomore, with 1,496, among many other accolades. After leading the Nittany Lions to an easy victory against Washington in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl at the end of his junior season, Barkley decided to call it a college career as he headed to the NFL to pursue his professional football dreams.
No matter the level of play Barkey has always continued to be a threat for any offense he plays for on the field. In the first four seasons he played professionally he easily saw the low points of being a pro as the Giants did not have a winning record in any of those four years. However, that changed in his fifth season as the 2022 NFL season was Barkley’s best season yet, as he finished the regular season with 295 carries for 1,312 rushing yards and ten touchdowns in sixteen games, earning him the ability to receive the non-exclusive franchise tag from the Giants once the season was over. He officially signed the franchise tag after it was adjusted to add a $2 million signing bonus and incentives in the summer of 2023. However, in the 2023 NFL season, Barkley did not have the season Giants fans hoped for not the season he had hoped for. He still had 247 carries for 962 rushing yards and six touchdowns, which statistically speaking is by no means a bad season, but all of his numbers were significantly done from the season prior.
With this being the case in March of 2024 the Giants announced they were not placing the franchise tag on Barkley, and he became a free agent. He went on to sign with the Eagles earlier today, where he will join forces with the Giants divisional rival. He’s hopeful to chase his dreams of winning a Super Bowl.
