Saquon Barkley says the Texans were a strong contender for his services before he signed with the Eagles.
Barkley says he spoke with C.J. Stroud and some other Texans players before free agency started and was very interested in Houston.
“Probably the team that had my first interest was Houston. I got to communicate with C.J. and a couple of those boys, but this was before when you could actually put offers on the table and talk to teams,” Barkley said on the New Heights podcast, via the New York Post.
The Eagles’ signing of Barkley is under investigation after Barkley’s college coach said that Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman talked to Barkley before free agency began. That would be against NFL rules, but it was legal for Stroud and other players to recruit Barkley.
Barkley said he had a couple good offers in free agency but felt best about Philadelphia, which is not far from where he played his college football at Penn State.
“I probably never imagined myself playing for Philly six years ago, but I get to come back to Pennsylvania, my family is from Pennsylvania, my lady, our kids, grandmas all that is from Pennsylvania and we’re already close and we can even get to get closer and get a chance to compete. I got to admire them from afar, admire what he was able to build over there and get to be part of that culture. It was a no-brainer for me,” Barkley said.
After missing out on Barkley, the Texans traded for running back Joe Mixon.
