Saquon Barkley recalled having one drawback of joining Eagles in free agency after ugly Giants' exit

Saquon Barkley joined the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason with the goal of winning the Super Bowl. The running back had tasted playoff football only once in his first six years in the league. So, when the opportunity presented itself to join a team with the talent and ambition to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, he couldn't pass it up.

Many were skeptical about how Barkley would perform as an Eagle after an underwhelming season in 2023 with the New York Giants. However, those concerns look silly in hindsight, as the running back embarked on a historic campaign, rushing for 2,005 yards. He has taken his game up a notch in the playoffs, averaging 147.3 rushing yards per game, 22 more than he managed in the regular season.

While the decision to join the Eagles has proven to be a home run, Barkley admits he was torn about it. During his Q&A session on the Super Bowl Opening Night in New Orleans, the running back revealed he was slightly worried that moving to Philadelphia would make him a villain in New York.

"The only con about Philly was I might get some slack because I played in New York," he said via SI. "It was a no-brainer for me. The talent that we have here, going against those guys, hearing stories about the organization, and most importantly those big boys up front."

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Saquon Barkley almost joined another NFC team before picking Eagles

While it seemed like the Eagles approached and signed Saquon Barkley immediately after Giants general manager Joe Schoen infamously asked him to test free agency, that wasn't the case. The running back weighed his options before picking Philadelphia as his landing spot.

He revealed that he was in talks with the Chicago Bears about joining the franchise and the two sides got as far as hammering out details on a deal. When asked how close he was moving to Windy City, Barkley said:

"I was pretty damn close."

However, the Eagles swooped in and signed the running back. Picking Philadelphia over Chicago proved to be the right call as the Bears had a dismal campaign and finished 5-12, while the Eagles are competing in the Super Bowl.

As incredible as Barkley is, it's hard to envision how he could have prevented Chicago's campaign from disintegrating.