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NFL exonerates Philadelphia Eagles in Saquon Barkley manipulation investigation

The 2023-2024 NFL season ended dismally for the Philadelphia Eagles.

But they have achieved their first victory of the 2024 season.

Last year, the defending NFC champions got off to a good start, starting the year with a 10-1 record and looking well on their way to another division title. But the Eagles faltered in the home stretch, losing five of their final six games to give up the NFC East lead. Ultimately, Philadelphia fell one game short in the playoffs, falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wild Card Weekend.

To bolster their offense, the Eagles signed running back Saquon Barkley from their NFC East rivals, the New York Giants. However, that signing was called into question after comments made by James Franklin, Barkley’s college coach, led to a league investigation into tampering.

The NFL has now released its findings and the Eagles do not have to fear any punishment as a result of this investigation. As first reported by ESPN According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the league could not find any evidence that the Eagles violated tampering rules:

As part of its investigation, the NFL reviewed “… phone records, text messages and other documents related to Philadelphia’s free agency strategy and the decision to sign Barkley,” said Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. In addition, the league “…interviewed several members of the organization, including Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni, as well as Barkley and Penn State head coach James Franklin.”

The allegations surrounding Barkley’s decision to sign with the Eagles stem from comments made by Franklin, the head coach at Penn State and Barkley’s college coach. Regarding Barkley’s move, Franklin said the following:

“The fact that he’s coming back and being able to play in the state, in Philadelphia, was one of the first things Howie (Roseman) told him on the phone as part of his sales pitch, not just because of the Philadelphia Eagles and stuff, but of course because of the connection to Penn State and the fan base.”

The comments seem to indicate that Eagles GM Howie Roseman had direct contact with the running back before the start of the league year, which would be a violation of the NFL’s anti-tampering rules.

Barkley and the Eagles have denied any wrongdoing, and the running back believes his former coach simply misinterpreted the situation and all communication went through his representatives, which is allowed under league rules. “Coach Franklin, I think he misinterpreted it,” Barkley said in March. “The truth was to basically sell Penn State. So many Penn State fans are Philadelphia Eagles fans, but that went through my agent. My agent told me that.”

Given today’s announcement, the NFL appears to agree.