The Chicago Bears immediately addressed their running back position upon opening free agency. They signed veteran D’Andre Swift, fresh off a 1,000-yard season in Philadelphia. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus both felt he was the kind of versatile weapon the team lacked at the position over the past couple of years. Many people might be surprised to hear that they were just as active on another top free agent. That was former Pro Bowler Saquon Barkley.
Here is where it gets fun. The New York Giants hoped to bring Barkley back on a new deal but were reluctant to put up top money, having already overpaid to keep Daniel Jones. However, the latest episode of Off-Season Hard Knocks revealed that the negotiations hit a big snag. The price kept going up. GM Joe Schoen revealed in a clip that the Bears were responsible for that. As the Giants wrestled with that, Chicago then pivoted at the last season to grab Swift for $24 million over three years.
That took him away from the Eagles, who then decided to make a determined push for Barkley, stealing him from New York for $37.75 million. The hilarious part is the Bears likely knew their chances of landing the running back were slim, but they drove the price up anyway, knowing it would make life miserable for the Giants.
Manipulating the Saquon Barkley market was brilliant by the Bears.
It weakened one of their potential roadblocks to an NFC playoff berth. New York is forced to move forward with Devin Singletary as the primary back, which is a significant downgrade. Philadelphia managed to snag Barkley but lost star center Jason Kelce to retirement. So, it is difficult to tell what his impact will be. Meanwhile, the Bears casually came away with Swift on an affordable deal while messing with the NFC East from afar. It may not guarantee anything this season, but it is a reminder that Poles understands how to play the game.
There are many ways to make life easier for your team. One way is to make it more difficult for others by driving up bidding wars for players you have no intention of signing or by putting out false information that you aim to draft a certain player. Former GM John Dorsey is famous for tactics like this. It seems Poles is the same way. Maybe he did have some interest in Saquon Barkley. Yet there is no way he would’ve stayed in the race despite knowing there was no shot unless he knew he could mess with the Giants.
