Previously, in October 2022, the San Francisco 49ers traded picks in the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds of the draft, and still signed a player who would have to pay a high price. The sixth-year pro was not a quarterback. He wasn’t a pass rusher. He wasn’t even a receiver as judged by titles or league tracking data. No, the 49ers decided to spend all their draft capital and money to acquire running back Christian McCaffrey. In this economy.
McCaffrey arrived with an injury history and played less than half of the team’s games over the past two seasons. He also arrived with a tremendous turnaround, best illustrated in 2020 when he led the NFL in yards from scrimmage (2,392) and touchdowns from scrimmage (19).
The 49ers had to ask themselves: Can McCaffrey stay healthy? Will joining a team where he thrives not on offense but as one of the more talented players in a well-conceived game plan help his success? McCaffrey… What happens when you have a great offensive line? After two appearances in the NFC Championship Game and then a Super Bowl berth, the 49ers are very confident in their All-Pro answer. have.
And the Philadelphia Eagles noticed. With McCaffrey’s success firmly in mind, the Eagles made headlines Monday. The league year ends this week and the team is expected to finalize a deal with Saquon Barkley. Does Saquon Barkley fit the Eagles’ philosophy? The move seemed to come as a surprise to the NFL. This wasn’t a deal like the one the Pittsburgh Steelers made in-state for quarterback Russell Wilson. The Eagles will pay Barkley $37.75 million over the three years of his new contract, including $26 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, a person with knowledge of the contract confirmed to Yahoo Sports. Barkley’s effective $13 million over the next two seasons is the same as the $12 million per year the Green Bay Packers are giving Josh Jacobs ($12.5 million guaranteed compared to Barkley’s $26 million); That’s more than the $8 million Tony Pollard and D’Andre Swift received. Multiple reports. Barkley becomes the highest-paid running back in Eagles history and the first to receive a top-level contract since DeMarco Murray received $18 million nine years ago and LeSean McCoy received $20.76 million on a five-year contract in 2012. This will be the first time.
Since then, the Eagles have definitively stopped paying running backs. They paid Swift $1.77 million for 1,049 yards and five rushing touchdowns last season and $1.22 million for Miles Sanders for 1,269 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in 2022. Even though the Eagles have led a top-10 rushing attack in each of the past four years, he invests less than 1% of the team’s salary cap in the position each campaign, according to Spotrac.com. . By comparison, fellow NFC East members the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys each spent more than 5% of their cap on running backs last season, while the Cowboys spent 9.37% the year before, Spotrac reported. There is. Cap allocation is just one metric by which to measure investment as Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and Co. can maneuver the cap between years and absorb the hit at a more opportune time than its natural chronology. Still, signing Barkley to a contract whose raw value would quintuple the investment Philadelphia has recently made sends a message: The Eagles believe in Barkley and they believe strongly. One executive with prior experience working in Philadelphia characterized the move in line with, rather than in opposition to, the Eagles way. “I think they have some very disciplined principles when it comes to building through the lines,” the executive texted. “BUT they also have some high-end art-collector tendencies where they will pursue high-end talent and pay premiums as needed.”
So consider this contract a sign that the Eagles view Barkley as high-end talent — and needed.
What will Barkley’s Eagles role look like?
The Eagles’ charge ranked eighth in production and fifth in points scored last season. Surprisingly, this number was a decrease from two consecutive years in which he was the highest scorer on the floor (including fifth and first in total yards). But how much of that was down to the Eagles’ vaunted offensive line, their signature quarterback sneak and, most recently, mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts? Philadelphia knows the retirement of six-time All-Pro center Jason Kelce last week has hurt the core of its offense on and off the field. So who will help Hearts step up in the most important moments? Who will take up the mantle of the ground game that the Eagles have long believed in, and does new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore have a track record of making the most of it? Enter Barkley, the main voice and playmaker in the Giants’ locker room for the past six years. The Eagles view Barkley as being in a different stratosphere than recently vacated defensemen. “His versatility, his size, his speed, his ability to impact the game in the passing game and just being a good pass blocker,” a source familiar with the Eagles’ decision-making told Yahoo Sports by phone Monday night. . “There’s no denying that talented defenders like them can make a difference. …Just the element of having a dynamic player who can do so much more than just run the ball. ” This is the same “more than running game” argument that led the 49ers to win over McCaffrey. McCaffrey averaged 110 scrimmage yards per game in his first season with San Francisco and 126.4 yards per game in his final season. McCaffrey had seven receiving touchdowns and 564 receiving yards last season, and led the league with 2,023 yards and 21 touchdowns from scrimmage.
The Eagles expect a healthy Barkley to follow that plan next season. While such an outcome would be the best-case scenario, Barkley led the league in scrimmage yards with 2,028 and 15 total touchdowns in his rookie year. And in 2022, his final year as a consistent quarterback, Barkley gained 1,650 yards and 10 scores. Why not now? Why not Philadelphia? The Eagles understand Barkley’s injury history, but point out that Barkley has played in 43 games over the past three seasons, compared to McCaffrey’s 40 games. Upgrading the offensive line has affected the health of the running backs. Barkley’s cap is attractive and his medical records are clean enough that the Eagles will bring him back to his home state of Pennsylvania. He will remain in the department where he studied for the past six years. Barkley will play twice a year against the Giants, who drafted him No. 2 in 2018 but then refused to pay up on his second multi-year contract. I don’t think the Eagles missed the power of revenge. “Philadelphia is a manageable city,” said a person familiar with Eagles decision-making. “I feel like I’m growing with it.”
