NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
How interested were Bears in signing Saquon Barkley? New ‘Hard Knocks’ episode reveals originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
One of the most notable free agents in the NFL’s most recent open market period was Saquon Barkley.
On the second episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” they revealed GM Joe Schoen’s conversation with Barkley and his agent, Ed Berry, of the GM informing him they would let the running back test the market. The Giants were curious to know how much another team would be willing to pay their running back.
And, according to a text Schoen received during the process, the Bears had a hand in raising the stakes.
“Just got a text that Chicago is driving the price up and Philly is out,” Schoen told his team on the show. “I don’t know if that’s true or not. I’ll make a couple of calls. I don’t know if that’s gonna happen.”
The second part of that text, obviously, wasn’t true. Philadelphia ultimately landed Barkley, signing him to a three-year deal worth $37.5 million. With that contract, Barkley put himself in the top five highest-paid running backs in the league.
Which turned out to be a nightmare for the Giants, who seemingly wished Barkley would go anywhere but their division rival.
“I’m gonna have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly. I’ll tell you that ” Giants President/CEO John Mara said. “I’ve been around enough players, he’s the most popular player we have, by far.”
Did the Bears have a hand in getting Barkley out of New York? Maybe. We do know the Bears were involved in the running back market.
They signed D’Andre Swift away from the Eagles — who signed Barkley —- to the tune of a three-year deal worth $24 million. Swift joins Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson in a fairly formidable backfield.
And they potentially left a mark on Barkley’s transcendental free agency period in the process.
Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/interested-were-bears-signing-saquon-033233770.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-07-17 03:32:33
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
