Eagles Deny Tampering To Sign Saquon Barkley After James Franklin Slip-Up

The Philadelphia Eagles have denied allegations that general manager Howie Roseman engaged in tampering before the free agency period to communicate with running back Saquon Barkley. The former Giants running back crossed division lines this offseason, signing a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the rival Eagles earlier this week.

People began accusing the Eagles of illegal communication on Tuesday when Penn State head coach James Franklin gave a statement about Philadelphia’s signing. The coach said that it was meaningful for Barkley, a Penn State alum and Pennsylvania native, to return to his home state but inadvertently caused a scandal.

“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.”

General managers are not allowed to talk directly to players represented by agents during the first 52 hours of free agency, known as the “legal tampering” window. Because Franklin made his comments on Tuesday, it would be impossible for Roseman to have spoken to Barkley without engaging in some form of tampering before the window closed on Wednesday.

In 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs were docked a third-round pick for the same infraction when they were found guilty of tampering to acquire former Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.

Franklin was speaking about a different aspect of Barkley’s signing and could have simply misspoken, but if he did indeed reveal wrongdoing, the Eagles could be fined or lose draft picks. Philadelphia team officials have since denied these claims, explaining to multiple outlets that all contact between Barkley and the team went through his agent. The Giants have not yet reported any grievance to the NFL in response to Franklin’s comments.