Saquon Barkley Joining Surprising AFC Contender Could Make Plenty of Sense

If the Philadelphia Eagles decide to move on from Saquon Barkley, a few obvious teams could use his services. 

While Barkley is dealing with injuries right now, it's still fair to say he's among the best running backs in the NFL. Barkley is going to have some things to figure out if he gets traded, especially with those injuries, but there's reason to believe that he'll go to a new team, figure out the system right away, and have a very good chance to continue making an impact like he's done in Philadelphia throughout much of his time with the organization.

As for teams that could use him, rumors suggest the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, and others could be of interest. Other teams make a ton of sense, and it was recently suggested that the Cincinnati Bengals could be one of them.

The Bengals seem like a legitimate team that could not only make the playoffs and possibly win the AFC North, but also have Super Bowl aspirations.

“What if Barkley and Chase Brown could play together. Barkley would give Joe Burrow a dangerous checkdown weapon and what he and Brown could do on the field at the same time is force heavier personnel onto the field, which would shave off some extra help normally earmarked for Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. We’re still waiting to see what comes of the great promise of a truly versatile, two-headed Bengals offense. 

“The Bengals are a middle-of-the-road run team in terms of efficiency but have the athleticism up front to block up big plays with just their front five. While it’s not the Eagles’ 2024 offensive line, it’s not the Giants’ 2023 offensive line, either,” Conor Orr wrote.

While the Bengals look like a very good team on paper, it's fair to wonder how much they want to improve on offense when their defense could be the bigger reason they get knocked out come playoff time. 

At the same time, Barkley doesn't feel like a huge package, something Philadelphia will also have to consider.

If the Bengals can get him for a relatively low price, it feels like a trade that makes too much sense to pass up on. With all the talent they already have on the offensive side of things, only injury problems could slow them down. There would be risk in bringing in a guy who has dealt with injuries, but it's worth it.