Philadelphia Eagles to sign running back Saquon Barkley on three-year deal

Saquon Barkley now knows what the future looks like, and it’s not in New York. According to Adam Schefter, Barkley has agreed in principle to a three-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. The former first-rounder will leave the Giants for the NFC East rivals on a contract that will pay him $37.75 million, with $26 million guaranteed. It’s the biggest deal for a free agent running back so far this offseason and it puts him over the franchise tag number.

🦅🦅

— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) March 11, 2024

The second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Penn State, Saquon Barkley was a dominant force for the New York Giants from the time he entered the league. That included being the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 and going to two Pro Bowls.

Last season, Saquon Barkley rushed for 962 yards in 14 games with six touchdowns. He also had 41 receptions for 280 yards and four touchdowns.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13th. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on February 20th at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5th. Beginning March 11th through March 13th teams can enter into a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19th marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24th, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets hits. Following the restricted free agent deadline follows the 2024 NFL Draft, which runs from April 25-27th.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.