One sports oddsmaker has listed the Miami Dolphins as the favorites to acquire New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley in free agency this offseason.
If not the Giants, where does Barkley land this offseason? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/jIN8YBaIty
— SportsLine (@SportsLine) January 23, 2023
Barkley, who turns 26 next month, has played all five of his NFL seasons with the Giants, who selected him as the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
During those five years, Barkley has rushed for more than 1,000 yards on three different occasions. This past season, he broke the 1,300 threshold for the second time, finishing with 1,312 yards, 10 touchdowns and 57 receptions.
This past season marked a comeback for Barkley, who was forced to deal with injuries during each of the previous three campaigns.
In 2020, his season ended abruptly during the second week of the season when he tore his ACL during the Giants game against the Chicago Bears. During both the previous year and in 2021, he dealt with ankle problems that limited him to 13 games.
Despite those health concerns, his relative youth and past production when healthy clearly make him a valuable commodity on the free agent market.
The Dolphins have struggled for years to develop a running game. In potentially pursuing Barkley, they’re undoubtedly looking for a more balanced attack. During this past season, they made an effort to improve their offensive backfield by acquiring Jeff Wilson from the San Francisco 49ers.
In Wilson’s eight regular season games with the Dolphins, he gained 392 yards on 84 carries and scored three touchdowns. That production was highlighted by a 119-yard effort against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 13.
However, in the Dolphins’ playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, Wilson gained just 23 yards on 10 carries. The fact that the Dolphins gained just 42 yards on the ground for the entire game made it clear that the team needs much more talent at running back.
Barkley would certainly provide that sort of boost, though any plunge into the free agent market inevitably may come down to money. With both Wilson and Raheem Mostert, the Dolphins’ leading rusher this past season, also set to become free agents, the team would be getting an upgrade by signing Barkley.
Despite getting knocked out of the postseason in the first round, the Dolphins appear to have plenty of promise for the future. That bright outlook, the year-round warm weather and a lucrative contract could entice Barkley to sign with the team.
For now, the Dolphins and other teams will have to wait for nearly two months before NFL free agency gets underway.
