Philadelphia Eagles cleared by NFL in Saquon Barkley tampering investigation

The Philadelphia Eagles had a dismal end to the 2023-2024 NFL season.

But they have their first victory of the 2024 campaign.

Last year the defending NFC Champions got off to a hot start, beginning the year with a 10-1 record and looking well on their way to another division title. But the Eagles faded dismally down the stretch, losing five of their final six games to cough up the lead in the NFC East. Ultimately, Philadelphia was one-and-done in the playoffs, getting bounced by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wild Card Weekend.

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

The NFL has now released their findings, and the Eagles are not facing any punishment as a result of that investigation. As first reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the league failed to find any evidence that the Eagles violated tampering rules:

As part of their investigation, the NFL reviewed “ ... phone logs, text messages and other documents related to Philadelphia’s free agency strategy and decision to sign Barkley,” according to 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. Speaking about Barkley’s move, Franklin had this to say:

“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 [Roseman] 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.”

The comments seem to imply that Eagles GM Howie Roseman had direct contact with the running back ahead of the league year beginning, which again 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 was done through his representatives, which is permitted under league rules. “Coach Franklin, I think he misinterpreted it,” Barkley said back in March. “The truth was to sell basically Penn State. So many Penn State fans are Philadelphia Eagles fans, but that was through my agent. My agent told me that.”

Given today’s announcement, it would seem the NFL agrees.