Penn State coach suggests Eagles violated tampering rule with Saquon Barkley

Of course, nothing can ever be easy in Philadephia.

On the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period, the Eagles agreed to terms with former Giants RB Saquon Barkley.

Former Giants RB Saquon Barkley reached agreement with the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million contract that could be worth up to $46.75M and includes $26M fully guaranteed at signing, per sources.

Barkley now beats the franchise tag number and has a maximum… pic.twitter.com/d2TnEWhaQ0

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024

During the pre-free-agency negotiating window, teams are prohibited from speaking with players and can only have direct contact with player agents.

Barkley’s former coach at Penn State, James Franklin, suggested that GM Howie Roseman violated these rules and spoke with Barkley during the process.

“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 base as well. So just a really cool opportunity.” — via Mark Wogenrich of SI.com

Through a team spokesman, the Eagles have denied that Roseman spoke to Barkley and stated all player recruiting is facilitated through the player’s agent.

In 2015, the Chiefs were fined and stripped of two draft picks for improper contact with WR Jeremy Maclin. If found guilty, the Eagles would likely incur similar penalties.

‘Legal tampering’ is a naive rule anyway; most of these deals get done at the NFL Combine. Chicago signed D’Andre Swift within 10 minutes of free agency. Kirk Cousins literally admitted to having contact with Atlanta’s training staff before signing.

Why James Franklin is snitching on one of his own is another conversation.

Per a league source, the NFL is looking into potential tampering by the Eagles and the Falcons related to the free-agent signings of Saquon Barkley and Kirk Cousins.

— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) March 14, 2024

Mandatory Credit: AP