Saquon Barkley's first season as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles will go down in the history books. Barkley became just the ninth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season during his first campaign in Midnight Green, and he also broke Philadelphia's single-season rushing record, previously held by LeSean McCoy. His production also helped propel the Eagles back to the Super Bowl.
Saquon Barkley was extremely close to signing with the Bears in free agency
But, Barkley's dream season in Philadelphia almost never happened, as he apparently came extremely close to signing with a different team in free agency last offseason. During a media session leading up to Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans, Barkley revealed how close he came to signing with the Chicago Bears.
“Pretty damn close,” Barkley said.
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That single sentence is enough to make fans in both Philly and Chicago both simultaneously sick. For fans in Philly, the thought of Saquon signing elsewhere is almost unimaginable. Meanwhile, Bears fans will now forever be stuck wondering, "What if?"
From a football standpoint, it's pretty safe to say that Barkley made the right decision. Philadelphia's offensive line is much better than Chicago's, so he likely wouldn't have had the same statistical success that he had with the Eagles with the Bears. Plus. as a team the Eagles are far superior to Chicago, so it's very unlikely that Barkley would have gotten to experience the postseason success that he's had this season if he had signed in Chicago.
Ironically enough, the Bears ultimately ended up signing former Eagles running back D'Andre Swift after missing out on Barkley. Swift wasn't a bad consolation prize, as he ran for 959 yards and six touchdowns during his first season in Chicago, but his production paled in comparison to what Barkley was able to do behind Philadelphia's offensive line.
Barkley still has two years remaining on his current contract with the Birds, but he's already provided Eagles fans with a lifetime full of memories. But, the best memory will be if he can help propel the Eagles to the second Super Bowl victory in franchise history on Sunday.