If the Philadelphia Eagles decide to part with Saquon Barkley, there are a few teams that could make the phone ring fast. Two that stand out above the rest are the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans.
Both clubs have enough going for them to stay in the playoff conversation, even if the season hasn’t unfolded the way they expected. Seattle has already won a Super Bowl a year ago, while Houston is a little more intriguing because of where it is right now and what it still might become over the next couple of months.
The Eagles, if they do make Barkley available, could be in position to send him to a contender that has struggled on offense and, in the process, strengthen its draft hand over the next few seasons.
“I could see a few contenders doing it. The Seahawks came to mind, as did the Packers and the Vikings. But I love the idea of GM Nick Caserio, fresh off the Marvin Harrison Jr. deal, doubling down on the offense and adding Barkley to a backfield that he has yet to solve in Houston,” Ben Solak wrote.
“The Texans are once again on pace to have a bottom-5 rushing attack, but Barkley has the talent behind the line of scrimmage to help cover for a shaky interior offensive line group. By forcing opposing defenses to play more heavy boxes by formation and by the presence of Barkley, the 2-4 Texans could pull further defensive attention away from receiver Nico Collins and field an offense really worthy of a comeback run into the playoffs.”
From Philadelphia’s side, the real question is what kind of return Barkley would bring. There is value in moving him, but there’s also a strong case that the Eagles would not get the same kind of package now that they might have received a few years back.
Barkley remains one of the NFL’s better running backs, but he’ll be 30 soon, and that age has traditionally been a tough one for backs at his position.
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