Superstar running back Saquon Barkley’s choices in free agency came down to three teams, and the Chicago Bears were one of them. It wasn’t meant to be, though.
The Bears wound up signing former Philadelphia Eagles starter D’Andre Swift, while Barkley ultimately landed with the Eagles.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report revealed that while the Bears were one of the final teams in the running for Barkley, it came down to talent on offense for the former New York Giants RB.
“Ultimately, this came down to the Chicago Bears, the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles,” Schultz said on March 11. “Saquon felt like the Eagles had the best offensive line, the best weaponry, and he loved the idea of being in the same backfield as Jalen Hurts.”
Bears Would Have Paid a Lot More for Saquon Barkley
The Eagles signed Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract that could be worth up to $46.75 million with incentives ($26 million guaranteed).
Chicago’s deal with Swift is a three-year contract worth $24 million, which is $4.5 million less per season than what Barkley signed for. It sounds as if Chicago was willing to pay Barkley over $12 million a year, but the Bears may be better off rolling with Swift.
While Barkley is a two-time All-Pro and a much more dynamic player than Swift, Bears general manager Ryan Poles has been cautious not to overpay for players in free agency. Swift is still only 25 (Barkley is 27) and he doesn’t have the concerning injury history that Barkley has.
It’s not a surprise Poles was interested in Barkley — the Bears need more playmakers on offense. It’s also not a surprise that Barkley wanted to play in Philadelphia instead of Chicago.
Even after the retirement of future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce, the Eagles have one of the best O-lines in the NFL. Featuring 25-year-old two-time Pro Bowler Landon Dickerson, four-time All-Pro Lane Johnson and 24-year-old Cam Jurgens, Kelce’s hand-picked replacement, Philly has no shortage of beasts on the offensive line.
Addition of D’Andre Swift Gives Bears Stronger RBs Room
Together with Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson, the Bears have a formidable trio of backs after the addition of Swift.
In 16 games with the Eagles last season (15 starts), Swift had 229 carries for 1,049 yards (4.6 yards per carry) and 5 touchdowns. He averaged 65.6 yards rushing per game and also had 214 yards through the air along with a receiving TD. He’s not much of a blocker, and he won’t be a short-yardage or goal line back, but the Bears have Johnson for that.
The 5-foot-9, 215-pound Swift is more of a finesse back than a power one. He’s not going to bowl over many defenders. He will, however, juke several out of their cleats.
Swift is excellent in the open field, and he will give opposing defenses another player to monitor closely on Chicago’s offense. Over his four seasons, Swift has played in 56 games and started 31, and has 69 runs of 10 or more yards in that span. Now that he has landed in Chicago, he should have plenty of opportunities to add to that number.
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