The Eagles agreed to contracts with Saquon Barkley - long the face of the New York Giants - and former New York Jets defensive end Bryce Huff, two people familiar with the deals told The Associated Press on Monday
Tuesday 12 March 2024 08:23, UK
The Philadelphia Eagles have a contract with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The Eagles decided Barkley was the rare running back they were willing to make a financial splash on, a move made even more rewarding by prying him away from the NFC East rival Giants.
The Eagles agreed to contracts with Barkley - long the face of the New York Giants - and former New York Jets defensive end Bryce Huff.
Barkley is set to sign a three-year deal for $26m guaranteed and $37.75m overall, while Huff is getting a three-year deal for $51m.
Barkley, who tweeted two eagle emojis on Monday, hit free agency after the Giants elected not to put a franchise tag on the second overall pick in the 2018 draft.
The Eagles pounced and made Barkley the highest-paid running back in franchise history, putting him on the short list of biggest free-agent signings with Nick Foles, Jon Runyan and Troy Vincent.
Under general manager Howie Roseman, the Eagles generally have been loathe to use high draft picks or valuable salary cap space on a running back. But he seemed to hint last month at the NFL scouting combine that he could change his mind.
"Talented players end up getting paid," he said of the running back market.
The Eagles have had three different players lead the team in rushing each of the last three years and declined to sign 2023 leader D'Andre Swift. Acquired by Philadelphia in a draft-day trade with Detroit last year, the 25-year-old Swift had his best season. He ran for a career-high 1,049 yards and five touchdowns and made his first Pro Bowl.
Swift agreed to a three-year deal worth $15.3m guaranteed with the Chicago Bears, a person familiar with that deal told the AP.
The Eagles expect to use Barkley as a three-down workhorse they haven't seen since LeSean McCoy's heyday ended a decade ago. He should only strengthen an explosive offense - one that propelled the Eagles to a 10-1 start in 2023 - that includes Jalen Hurts, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert.
The Giants used the franchise tag last season on Barkley and eventually worked out a one-year, $10.1m contract before the start of training camp. A franchise tag this year would have cost the team $12.2m if Barkley accepted the offer.
Barkley, 27, played in 14 games last season, missing three because of a high ankle sprain. He ran for 962 yards and six touchdowns and had 41 catches, including four TDs.
Since joining the Giants, Barkley has run for 5,211 yards and 35 touchdowns. The Penn State product also has 288 receptions for 2,100 yards and 12 TDs.
Barkley missed most of the 2020 season after tearing his ACL in the second week of the season. He struggled in 2021 but regained his form the following year, rushing for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns in helping the Giants get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Barkley has played in two postseason games, both in 2022.
The Giants would respond to Barkley's exit by agreeing a three-year $16.5m deal with former Houston Texans running back Devin Singletary.
Elsewhere the Washington Commanders agreed a two-year deal worth up to $11.43m with former Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler.
Ekeler tied for the NFL lead in combined rushing and receiving touchdowns in both 2021 (20) and 2022 (18) as the Chargers' featured back. His production tailed off in 2023, when he rushed 179 times for 628 yards and five touchdowns and caught 51 passes for 436 yards and one touchdown.
In 103 career games (68 starts), Ekeler has amassed 8,239 yards from scrimmage (4,355 rushing, 3,884 receiving) with 39 rushing touchdowns and 30 receiving touchdowns.
His arrival coincides with the departure of running back Antonio Gibson, who agreed a deal with the New England Patriots.
In light of Ekeler's departure, the Chargers agreed terms on a deal with former Baltimore Ravens running back Gus Edwards.
The Green Bay Packers meanwhile agreed a deal with former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, before releasing veteran back Aaron Jones.
Jacobs led the NFL in rushing with 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022, before registering 805 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 13 games last season.
Jones played in a career-low 11 games last season because of injuries, rushing for 656 yards and two touchdowns from 142 carries as well as starring with three touchdowns in two playoff outings.
The Packers also agreed a four-year $68m deal with former New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney, who becomes the third-highest paid player in his position based on annual salary.
The Cincinnati Bengals released running back Joe Mixon and will replace him with Zack Moss, NFL Network reported Monday.
Moss, who spent parts of the past two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, agreed to a two-year, $8m contract, per the reports.
In seven seasons with Cincinnati, the 27-year-old Mixon amassed 6,412 yards and 49 touchdowns on the ground. He ran for 1,034 yards and nine TDs in 2023, his fourth season with at least 1,000 rushing yards. He added 52 catches for 376 yards and three scores last season.
Mixon appeared in 97 games (88 starts) for the Bengals after being selected by them in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Moss took advantage of Jonathan Taylor's limited availability last season and starred, rushing for 794 yards and five scores in 14 games (eight starts), all career highs.
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