Philadelphia Eagles’ new signing Saquon Barkley denies ‘tampering’ rumors. What did he say?
As the plot thickens, the player himself has now spoken, seemingly squashing any suspicions that his new team acted inappropriately during negotiations.
There’s been a lot said over the last few days about the details of the star running back’s move from New York to Philadelphia. Did the Eagles make direct contact with him during a period when they shouldn’t have? The team has denied it and now, so too has he.
Saquon Barkley clears the air on ‘tampering’ rumors
Speaking from the Novacare Complex - the Philadelphia Eagles’ training center - on Thursday, new signing and prolific running back Saquon Barkley left no room for doubt regarding his negotiations with the Eagles prior to his arrival. Indeed, Barkley made references to comments made earlier this week by his former Penn State coach, James Franklin, who had suggested that the Eagles directly contact Barkley before he agreed to sign with the team during the legal tampering period which opened on Monday, something the Eagles have since strongly denied.
“Coach (James) Franklin, I think he misinterpreted it,” Barkley said with a smile at the Eagles’ complex. “The truth was to sell basically Penn State. So many Penn State fans are Philadelphia Eagles fans, but that was through my agent. My agent told me that.” It is understood that the NFL is currently looking into the situation, but with both the team and Barkley coming out and stating that negotiations occurred through agents, it would appear that there is nothing to the rumors.
So, what’s the real deal with Saquon Barkley’s move to Philly?
First, let’s recap. On Tuesday, Barkley’s former coach - as mentioned above - gave a rather interesting take on the player’s move to Philly: “For him now to come back and be able to play within the state in Philadelphia, [Barkley] said that was one of the first things that Howie [Roseman] said to him on the phone as part of his sales pitch to him,” Franklin said. “Not only the Philadelphia Eagles but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan bases as well.”
As we know, Barkley went on to sign a three-year, $37.75 million contract with $26 million guaranteed that will see him leaving the Big Apple and heading to a team that also plays in the NFC East. Of course, the problem here is Franklin’s suggestion that Roseman called Barkley directly, something that as we established before, is not allowed according to league rules. Yet, while one might be inclined to think that something improper occurred, we do know that Barkley spoke of his move to the Eagles with others, including his own mother and the basis of his motivation to move seems to be rooted in something we can all understand: An opportunity to go home.
“I was super happy that I was going to come back and stay close to home and play for a great team,” Barkley said. “Just ready to get (over) the business side off of it the last two years. I feel like so many people would come up to me about me getting tagged, or talking contract leading up to this. And now all of that’s done. The business side is done and we can keep the main thing the main thing. And that’s going out there and playing football and winning football games.”