Saquon Barkley is Not Coming To The Eagles, And That Is A Good Thing

For whatever reason, people love to create rumors about the Eagles going after big-name RBs every off-season. Last year it was Derrick Henry who people attached to them. All because former NFL player and American Ninja Warrior host Akbar Gbajabiamila reported it was happening. Never mind the fact he is not a reporter, people jumped all over it. Now this year we are seeing rumors that Saquon Barkley could be coming to Philly. But don't buy into them.

Giving RBs big money has never been Howie Roseman's, or the Eagles, style. The last time they gave an RB big money was Demarco Murray. That was Chip Kelly's doing though, and it blew up in their face. Before that, they paid LeSean McCoy. In that case, it was a homegrown player though, not a free agent. This year would certainly not be the year they break that trend given how many other needs they have.

Your other sign that it has no merit is that none of the Eagles reporters are saying it. Is Tim McManus saying it? Jeff Mclane? EJ Smith? Anyone who is actually around the building and has a history of being credible? No. It comes from a NY Post writer who covers the Giants. He may know what Saqoun is interested in, but there is no reason to believe he knows anything about the Eagle's plans.

Barkley just makes no sense for the Eagles. he will command too much, and they have too many other needs. They have proven you can get elite production from the RB spot without an elite RB. Their o-line, even without Jason Kelce, is still among the best run-blocking o-lines in the league. Lane Johnson and Jordan Maialta were 1 and 2 among Tackles in run Block WinRrate. Landon Dickerson was number 1 among Interior Lineman. They don't need Saqoun Barkley to be an elite running team.

That $10 million is better spent elsewhere. Cornerback or Safety in particular. Their defense was a mess last year. That is where they need to invest their cap space. There are good, if not great, RBs available at far better value than Barkley. They can go after one of the second-tier free agents like Gus Bradley. They can draft one with a day 2 or day 3 pick, and have them cheap for 4 years. You might even see a big name have to settle for a small contract for all the reasons McManus discussed.

Saquon Barkley is not worth it though. Giving RBs big contracts has more often than not, spelled trouble for the team signing them.

Jason Kelce is calling it a career. There were reports immediately following the playoff game that it was over. Adam Schefter reported it the following day. You could almost tell with the way he was acting after the game. But we still hadn't heard it from the man himself. Taht changed today. Jason Kelce spoke to the media today and announced he is calling it a career.

Kelce is easily one of the most beloved players in the Eagles' history. Not just for how great he is on the field, but for what he has done off of it. This year marked the 6th time he made the All-Pro first team. Only 5 other centers made at least 6 All-Pro teams. Only 1 did so in the last 50 years. What makes it more impressive is he made all of them after turning 30. Kelce closed out his career by being named the best center in 6 of his final 7 seasons.

He will walk into Canton one day. The Eagles will almost certainly retire his number one day. But Eagles fans don't need any of those accolades to know how great Kelce is.

With Centers, it is hard to put together a highlight reel. A lot of what offensive linemen do does not necessarily get noticed by fans on a play-to-play basis. Jason Kelce changed that bit. There are so many big plays in the last 13 seasons where you will see Jason Kelce downfield leading the way for the ball carrier. Kelce changed the position. Forcing teams to look for more agile centers like him, as opposed to the old-school brick wall we often saw play center in the past.

So in honor of his great career, let's look back on some of our fondest Jason Kelce memories.

The parade speech is what took Kelce from being a great player, and turned him into an Eagles legend. Every Eagles fan will remember his speech about how much people doubted the Eagles for the rest of time. People knew and liked him before the speech. But it was only after the speech that he became nearly everybody's favorite player.

This is less about the play itself, and more just a representative of the types of blocks he made his whole career. Here we saw Kelce block Mason Foster 14 yards down field, and then make an additional block to lead the way for a Darren Sproles TD. No other center had the knack for making blocks downfield the way Kelce did. And this was one of his most impressive blocks.

Jason Kelce has a future in broadcasting. He has dipped his toes in it a bit during his career. Kelce joined the Thursday Night Football crew earlier this year during the Eagles' bye week. And he has shown he has the personality, and the smarts, to do the job. But my favorite moment of him in front of the camera came from when he joined Bleacher Report to cover the draft. And we got his live reaction to the Eagles trading for AJ Brown. He also had a great reaction to the Eagles drafting Jordan Davis earlier in the night.

One of the craziest parts of Kelce's game is how fast he is for a center. It goes along with what he talked about earlier with him making downfield blocks. But we saw earlier this season, that even at 36, he can still move. Most centers don't move like this. Kelce was at the end of his career and still doing it.

It's not just on the field though that Kelce made magic happen. He did it in the recording studio too. The Eagles Christmas album has been a highlight in each of the past two seasons. And while his voice may be the weakest of the 3 Eagles Linemen, it still was just another thing to add to his legacy.

On top of all the awards he won from the NFL, he also received an award this year that no one but his wife saw coming. People Magazine made him a finalist for The Sexiest Man Alive. There is a reason they call him Sexy Batman.

Perhaps the craziest thing about Kelce's career, is how healthy he has been. Playing center takes its toll. Just go watch his Amazon Prime Doc to see the injuries Kelce deals with on a day-to-day basis. But he always played. He got injured in his 2nd season, and since then never missed a single game. He broke Jon Runyan's franchise record for consecutive starts. With his retirement, his streak will end at 157 games. For an offensive lineman to be that dependable, is incredibly impressive.

Perhaps the biggest reason we love him, is he just gets Philly fans. He proved that during his retirement speech.

Thank you for everything Jason.