Tag: Saquon Barkley

Eagles updated 76-player roster as 2024 offseason program gets underway

We’re looking at the Philadelphia Eagles updated 76 man roster as the offseason workout program gets underway

The Eagles are back at the NovaCare Complex as the offseason program begins for 76 select veterans and second-year players.

The nine-week training program has three phases: one mandatory minicamp for the entire roster and one rookie minicamp for each group.

Phase One consists of the first two weeks of the program, with activities limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.

Phase Two consists of the next three weeks of the program with on-field workouts, which may include individual or group instruction.

Phase Three consists of the next four weeks of the program, during which teams may conduct ten days of organized team practice activities, or “OTAs.”

No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are allowed.

The Eagles are changing their offseason program, including adding a mandatory minicamp for the first time under Nick Sirianni. They will have 7 OTAs (May 20, May 22-23, May 28, May 30-31) and three days of mandatory minicamp (June 4-6). In 2022 and 2023, they had six total OTAs.

With the workouts and on-field training underway, we’re looking at Philadelphia’s updated 76-player roster ahead of next week’s NFL draft.

Every move the Eagles have made so far this offseason

We’re breaking down and reviewing every move the Philadelphia Eagles have made during the 2024 NFL off-season

We’re 16 days away from the start of the 2024 NFL draft’s first round, and the Eagles along with 31 other teams have started preparing for a fast approaching training camp and regular season.

Philadelphia has been dilligent in retooling the coaching staff and a roster that’ll be without Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce for the first time since 2010.

The Eagles have been active this offseason, adding Saquon Barkley, Bryce Huff and Kenny Pickett among others, while Haason Reddick was traded, and a handful of other free agents departed.

With the final draft preparation underway, we’re looking at every move Philadelphia has made this off-season.

PODCAST: Which path should Giants take in 2024 NFL draft?

This week on the Giants Wire Podcast, we look ahead to the 2024 NFL draft and offer our opinion while also breaking down free agency.

This week on the Giants Wire Podcast, we discuss the 2024 NFL draft and what the New York Giants might do in Round 1.

Will general manager Joe Schoen trade up? How about down? Will he stand pat and take a top-end wide receiver or hope a potential quarterback falls to him? We weigh those options and offer our take.

We also discuss the free-agent losses of running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney. Which was worse? And can Devin Singletary replace Barkley’s production?

Additionally, we evaluate the addition of edge rusher Brian Burns and break down what it means for the defense — specifically nose tackle Dexter Lawrence and linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Those topics (and more) are discussed in the latest episode of the Giants Wire Podcast, which is hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_Leary on X) and joined by site editor Dan Benton (@TheGiantsWire).

The Giants Wire Podcast will air every week during the regular season and occasionally throughout the offseason. You can listen below:

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NFL executive: Giants’ Devin Singletary will produce as much as Saquon Barkley

One NFL executive believes Devin Singletary will produce as much for the New York Giants as Saquon Barkley did.

General manager Joe Schoen made a clear statement about where the New York Giants are headed when they let Xavier McKinney and Saquon Barkley walk in free agency.

The message was clear: The Giants would not pay players at non-premium positions.

Given the fact that he left for their division rival Philadelphia Eagles, the departure of Barkley is one that weighed heavy on Giants fans and even co-owner John Mara.

Instead of paying Barkley, the Giants moved in another direction when they signed Devin Singletary.

Following the signing, it wasn’t long before the stat comparisons hit X, formerly known as Twitter, comparing Singletary and Barkley.

Recently, an anonymous NFL executive told The Athletic that he believes Singletary will produce as much as Barkley in 2024.

“I actually like the stuff that they did,” the exec said. “Saquon is a good back, but you are talking about a running back. Singletary is going to produce as much as Saquon did for them at a fraction of the cost. They may get a better version of Brian Burns than Carolina was getting because there is a human element to it. You don’t like where you are playing, you are not having success, it affects you.”

Singletary had the most carries of his career last season. He comes at a cheaper price point and historically, has been much more durable than Barkley.

The Giants should have an improved offensive line than what Barkley had to deal with during his time in a Giants uniform, so that should facilitate some added production as well.

Obviously, Singletary is not the home run threat that Barkley is. However, if he is able to stay healthy, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Singletary could, in fact, produce as much as Barkley.

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Giants vs. Eagles named one of NFL’s best revenge games of 2024

With Saquon Barkley defecting, New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles has been named one of the NFL’s best revenge games of 2024.

When the Philadelphia Eagles swooped in and signed running back Saquon Barkley, it sent shockwaves across the NFL.

Blood boiled in New York as the Giants star defected to their fiercest rival, setting off an emotionally charged exchange between Barkley and one of Big Blue’s greatest all-time players, Tiki Barber.

Other former Giants also chimed in, as did fans — many burning their Barkley jerseys.

Because of the heated nature of Barkley’s move within the division, Adam Rank of NFL Network believes Giants-Eagles will be among the NFL’s best revenge games of 2024.

Let’s start off with a banger — just like they do at WrestleMania, which is taking place in Philadelphia this year. Now, it was former Giants running back Tiki Barber who (jokingly?) said Saquon Barkley was dead to him after the star RB signed a big-money deal with the rival Eagles. I get it. There is no love lost between Giants and Eagles fans. It’s one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. But I actually think this was kind of a great move, and one that Giants fans shouldn’t be too upset about. Saquon played some fine football during his six seasons in New York, earning a healthy payday with a team that is still in its Super Bowl window (we hope, anyway).

The Giants are in a spot where devoting big money to a running back isn’t the move. The Eagles, on the other hand, probably shouldn’t let their quarterback run for 15 touchdowns, so for them, this signing made a lot of sense. I understand that it’s disturbing for some to think of Saquon in an Eagles uniform, and that Giants fans will be upset when he has a Christian McCaffrey-like impact with their division rival. But dude is from Allentown, Pennsylvania, (fine, Whitehall Township) and should be allowed to go home. Plus, folks should blame the team that didn’t want to pay Saquon before getting mad at the player himself.

The Giants organization, from co-owner John Mara to head coach Brian Daboll, have said all the right things. They’ve praised Barkley on his way out the door and wished him success in all but two regular season games.

And for his part, Barkley has maintained decorum.

Still, there’s little doubt that Barkley wants to make an example out of the Giants, and playing them twice per season undoubtedly factored into his decision. He wants to feast on his former team and they’ll be desperate to stop him.

It may be relatively calm leading up to those games given Barkley’s classy nature but make no mistake about it, Rank is right — Giants vs. Eagles is going to be more electrifying than ever in 2024.

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Texans had Saquon Barkley’s interest first before he signed with Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley liked the idea of signing with the Houston Texans before being offered more money.

Running back Saquon Barkley might have ended up with the Houston Texans instead of the Philadelphia Eagles.

That isn’t new information, as it was reported the Texans offered Barkley a slightly smaller contract than the one he ultimately signed with the Eagles. However, Barkley said on the “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce” podcast that Houston originally had his attention before offers were put on the table in free agency.

“Probably the first team that had my first interest was Houston,” he said. “I got to communicate with C.J. [Stroud] and a couple of those boys.”

This lines up with all the reporting ahead of free agency that linked Barkley to the Texans. Head coach DeMeco Ryans even said at the NFL owners meetings this week that the team had a plan to add a running back this offseason.

It sounds as though the interest between Barkley and the team was mutual, but the money was different. Houston offered Barkley a three-year, $33 million deal, according to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson, and he ended up signing a three-year, $37.7 million deal worth up to $46.75 million with Philadelphia. Picking the Eagles also allowed Barkley to return to Pennsylvania, where he grew up and where his family lives.

When Barkley signed with Philadelphia, Houston pivoted to a trade for Joe Mixon. The Texans extended Mixon soon after on a three-year, $27 million deal with $13 guaranteed — $6 million less than the offer for Barkley.

Giants’ John Mara explains why Saquon Barkley wasn’t traded at 2023 deadline

New York Giants co-owner John Mara explains why the team opted against trading RB Saquon Barkley at the 2023 deadline.

The New York Giants failed to deal running back Saquon Barkley at the 2023 trade deadline despite sporting a 2-6 record at the time. That decision came back to haunt them when Barkley inked a long-term deal with the Philadelphia Eagles at the onset of free agency.

The Giants ultimately lost Barkley and got nothing in return.

Although they recognized the possibility of being caught flat-footed, Giants co-owner John Mara says they were still attempting to compete at the time so they gambled on keeping Barkley.

“I hate trading guys right at the trade deadline because it almost signals that you’re giving up on the season,” Mara said this week at the Annual League Meeting, via the New York Daily News. “And Saquon, I was still hoping to be able to sign him at some point. It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to do it.”

Although Mara says they weren’t giving up on the season, that didn’t stop general manager Joe Schoen from trading defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks.

In the eyes of Schoen, Barkley was more valuable offensively than Williams was defensively.

“(Barkley) was one of our better offensive players, and we weren’t giving up,” Schoen said. “We still wanted him to go out there and perform for us . . . When (Daniel Jones) was coming back from the neck injury, we wanted to make sure they could go out there and operate. I think Saquon was a big part of that at that time.”

Mara wanted Schoen to find a way to make it work but ultimately, Barkley departed. The Giants never even made him a contract offer.

“That was kind of an ongoing discussion through the year that it could come to this, and they knew my feelings that I was hoping it didn’t come to this,” Mara said. “But at the end of the day, I know sometimes every once in a while I read, ‘Oh, he’s meddling, he’s meddling.’ No. We’ve run our organization the same way for many, many years.”

That also means, contrary to popular belief, that the four-year contract given to Jones was the decision of Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

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Saquon Barkley: Eagles were not ‘first interest’ entering free agency

Former New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley said the Eagles were not his first interest entering free agency but ultimately, money talks.

When star running back Saquon Barkley left the New York Giants for the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, it was the worst nightmare for Giants fans.

In fact, Giants owner John Mara echoed those feelings when he said the news made him ‘sick.’

Despite expressing a desire to be a Giant for life several times over the past few years, the team and Barkley were never able to come to a deal.

However, Barkley shared on the New Heights podcast that Philadelphia was not his first interest entering free agency. Instead, it was the Houston Texans — the favorite to land Barkley ahead of free agency.

“Probably the team that had my first interest was Houston,” Barkley told the Kelce Brothers. “I got to communicate with C.J. (Stroud) and a couple of those boys, but this was before when you could actually put offers on the table and talk to teams.”

Days before the legal tampering period, there were reports that Barkley was going to take the best offer he received, a sentiment he echoed on the podcast.

“I had a good bit of teams that really was like all about me coming there and with the price point being up there,” Barkley said. “I’m happy with what I was able to get and shout out to my agent and my team that worked their (expletive) off for me. . . I wanted to get what I deserved that I thought was fair for me to take care of me and my family. That’s the goal you want to get to, that second contract.”

Barkley secured his bag and is now ready to take on his former team twice per season.

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Seven things we learned from the Eagles at NFL owners meetings in Orlando

We’re looking at seven Philadelphia Eagles related takeaways and analysis from the NFL owners meetings in Orlando

The Eagles and 31 other teams just wrapped up the NFL owner’s meetings in Orlando, Florida, and the media sessions featuring owners, general managers, and head coaches were the week’s highlight.

Longtime Philadelphia owner Jeffrey Lurie held his annual State of the Organization address. In contrast, GM Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni had 30-minute question-and-answer sessions with NFL media.

The topics at hand included Haason Reddick, Jalen Hurts, Kellen Moore, Vic Fangio, the addition of Saquon Barkley, and more.

With less than one month until the NFL draft, we’re looking at takeaways from all three media sessions and how they’ll impact the 2024 season.

WATCH: Saquon Barkley recruits Jason Kelce back to the Eagles on New Heights show

During his first appearance on the New Height Show, New Eagles running back Saquon Barkley started recruiting Jason Kelce back to Philadelphia

Over the past few weeks, Jason Kelce has hinted multiple times at dismay over the Eagles signing a star running back as soon as he decides to retire.

The All-Pro center and brother Travis Kelce welcomed Saquon Barkley onto their New Heights Show, and the former Penn State star immediately started recruiting Kelce back to the Eagles.

While describing his arrival to Philadelphia as a “kid in the candy store,” Barkley told Kelce, “You don’t have to watch,” when responding to the Eagles legend’s talk about how excited he is for the 2024 season.