The NFL has made the determination that the Philadelphia Eagles signing of former Penn State and NY Giants RB Saquon Barkley was completely above board.
This whole investigation was brought about following comments made by Penn State head coach James Franklin, who said that Eagles GM Howie Roseman talked with Barkley during the legal tampering period, which isn’t allowed unless the player is their own agent.
Here was the statement by Franklin from Tim McManus.
“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 Philadelphi Eagles and that but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan base as well.”
Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg (14) hands off to Saquon Barkley (26) during the second quarter of the Nittany Lions game with No.1 Ohio State. The Buckeyes won, 38-10, in a Big Ten football contest Saturday night in Ohio Stadium on Oct. 17, 2015.
Photo by Mark Selders
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.However, after going through and investigating it, the NFL issued a statement and cleared the NY Giants of any wrongdoing.
“In coming to this conclusion, the league reviewed phone logs, text messages and other documents related to Philadelphia’s free agency strategy and decision to sign Barkley. The NFL also interviewed several members of the organization, including Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni, as well as Barkley and Penn State head coach James Franklin. As with every review, should new evidence be uncovered, the league may reopen the investigation.”
If they were found guilty, the Giants were looking at being fined or possibly losing draft picks.
The 27-year-old Barkley was the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and signed a 3-year, $37.5 million contract with the Eagles this off-season. Last season with the Giants, Barkley rushed for 962 yards on 247 carries, along with catching 60 passes for 280 yards.
