James Franklin raves over Saquon Barkley signing with Eagles

James Franklin was quite pleased to see Saquon Barkley sign a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. The former Penn State star who played under Franklin, signed a three-year, $37.75 million deal.

That just goes to show that running backs still have a high value and Barkley should be used in the running and passing game in Philadelphia. That’s definitely the way Franklin sees it.

Not to mention, Barkley is a little closer to home.

“For him to sign this type of deal, I think in a lot of ways it happens and think a lot of running backs are realizing this because you better bring more value than just as a running back,” Franklin said. “You better be a leader in the locker room.

“As we all know, Saquon has handled himself really well and has an influence over the guys in the locker room, but then also in the passing game you’ve got to be able to make an impact in the passing game as well, and I think he is one of those backs that can be used in a lot of different ways. Very similar to maybe some of the other backs that are talked about within the league. I think he has a chance to do that.”

Since Barkley is now with the Eagles, it gave Franklin a chance to rave about his former running back staying home for college and now returning closer to home.

“Then, obviously, being a Pennsylvania kid who chose to stay home and come to Penn State,” Franklin said of Barkley. “Our hit rate with players that have decided to stay home from the state of Pennsylvania has been really good. I’m talking about the top players in the state that have chose to stay here.

“We can go on and on and on whether it is Micah (Parsons), whether it is Saquon and then some of the guys that we were able to get back on the rebound is also going to be interesting for us as well moving forward. But for him now to come back and be able to play within the state in Philadelphia, he said that was one of the first things that Howie said to him on the phone as part of his sales pitch to him was not only the Philadelphia Eagles and that, but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan bases as well.”

Barkley regularly said he wanted to stay with the New York Giants. However, when it came time to get paid, New York didn’t offer what he wanted. But he gets a chance with Philadelphia.

“Just a really cool opportunity,” Franklin said. “Obviously we like our lettermen and our former players, especially the ones that are the guys in the NFL, to try to get back as much as they can to campus to have an influence over our current roster, to be supportive and be on the sideline for games. Obviously his schedule, like most NFL players, is crazy and hectic, but it helps. You look at the guys that we got in San Francisco. It’s just not easy for them to get back here.

“When you are right down the road in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh or wherever it may be, that helps. That helps with them being around this fan base and around our team, and they’re beloved. I also love the fact that they can come and have influence.”