Over the last decade, the Philadelphia Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman have been known as a team that had looked to cut corners when it comes to spending at the running back position. Things changed during the 2024 NFL offseason, though.
Philadelphia signed former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million this offseason, making it the largest contract the Eagles have given to a player at the position since LeSean McCoy in 2012. It was McCoy as a player that Roseman turned to Monday to explain why the Eagles made a change in their roster construction.
Howie Roseman Explains Saquon Barkley Signing
Roseman has been the Eagles’ general manager since 2010. During that time, he’s seen Philadelphia give large contracts to running backs, with some of them working out, and others…not so much.
It’s that past history with the position that Roseman explained may be different than what has been previously perceived.
“I would actually say our history is a little different than maybe is being portrayed, or at least is being told to me it’s being portrayed,” Roseman told Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer Monday at the Annual League Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
“I was in the front office when we paid Brian Westbrook. In 2012, LeSean McCoy got a $9 million a year contract when I was the GM.”
Westbrook and McCoy are two of the Eagles’ all-time rushing leaders and locker-room anchors. However, the position hasn’t always worked out for the franchise.
In 2015, after Roseman was stripped of power in favor of head coach Chip Kelly, McCoy was traded, and former Dallas Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray signed a five-year, $42 million contract with the team. Yet, Murray lasted just one year with the organization and ran for 700 yards a year after leading the league in rushing.
Despite the similarities that bringing a division rival to the team on a large contract might bring, Roseman was clear in explaining why Barkley would not be a similar signing to Murray.
“We think Saquon’s a special player, a special person,” Roseman explained. “And when you’re trying to find those guys, they’re hard to find, especially on the open market. And then you put in the dynamic about have we gone so far, has the pendulum swung so far at this position?
“The guy touched the ball 300 times a year — hopefully. There are not a lot of other players, skill-position players, that are touching the ball that many times, and have that effect.”
Barkley is a former Offensive Rookie of the Year and two-time Pro Bowler. He has recorded over 1,000 yards rushing in three seasons but has dealt with injuries throughout his career.
The pressure of being in New York may not have helped the former No. 2 overall pick, though. As a top overall prospect, Barkley would have to run behind inconsistent offensive lines and be the focal point of an offense without a functioning passing attack.
Philadelphia hopes their All-Pro-filled offensive line and excellent skill positions will be enough to lessen the load on the 27-year-old.
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Roseman may feel that he has never been one to shy away from paying top players, but it’s been a long time since a running back got the kind of contract Barkley received in Philadelphia.
The only question remaining to be seen is if it ends up working out.
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