{"id":18772,"date":"2025-02-06T11:28:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T10:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=18772"},"modified":"2025-02-06T11:28:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T10:28:56","slug":"saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Saquon Barkley reveals he was \u2018pretty damn close\u2019 to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Saquon Barkley nearly joined the Chicago Bears during the 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/nfl\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>NFL<\/a> free agency period. Speaking at Super Bowl Opening Night, the Philadelphia Eagles&rsquo; star running back confirmed how close the deal came to reality.<\/p><p><em>&ldquo;Pretty damn close,&rdquo;<\/em> Barkley told reporters at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Barkley&rsquo;s free agency decision shocked fans<\/h2><p>Reports during free agency revealed that Barkley had three main suitors: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nfl\/news\/super-bowl-2025-eagles-saquon-barkley-says-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-bears-prior-to-2024-season\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Eagles<\/a>, Bears, and Texans. Despite Chicago&rsquo;s serious interest, he ultimately chose Philadelphia&mdash;a move that paid off big time. Barkley&rsquo;s 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns helped propel the Eagles back to the Super Bowl. His 5.8 yards per carry set a personal best.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128680;NEWS: Saquon Barkley said that he was very close to signing with the Chicago <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bears?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#Bears<\/a> in free agency before going to Philly.<br><br>&ldquo;I was pretty damn close&rdquo;<br><br>&#128064; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cBsmv6V9zG\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/cBsmv6V9zG<\/a><\/p>&mdash; MLFootball (@_MLFootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_MLFootball\/status\/1886614728060837981?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>February 4, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>For Bears fans, Barkley&rsquo;s admission stings. After going 5-12 in 2024, Chicago needed a game-changer. But even with Barkley, it&rsquo;s doubtful they would have turned their losing season into a playoff run. Without the Eagles&rsquo; elite offensive line, replicating his success in Chicago would have been nearly impossible. The Bears instead signed D&rsquo;Andre Swift, who produced a modest 959 yards and six touchdowns on a struggling offense.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What if Saquon Barkley had signed with Chicago?<\/h2><p>The Bears were one of the few teams aggressively pursuing Barkley last offseason. Their interest was even highlighted in the Hard Knocks series. But it&rsquo;s clear Barkley saw more potential with Philadelphia, and he was right. Behind one of the best offensive lines in football, Barkley dominated, breaking LeSean McCoy&rsquo;s single-season rushing record for the Eagles.<\/p><p><em>&ldquo;We view this as a blessing,&rdquo;<\/em> Barkley&rsquo;s former Giants teammate Parris Campbell said in a recent CBS Sports interview, referring to their career rejuvenation with Philadelphia.<\/p><p>Meanwhile, the Bears might regret missing out. Draft projections show they&rsquo;re likely to target a running back in 2025, with Boise State&rsquo;s Ashton Jeanty&mdash;who ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns&mdash;being a possible pick.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">D&rsquo;Andre Swift was Chicago&rsquo;s backup plan<\/h2><p>After losing the Barkley sweepstakes, the Bears signed ex-Eagles running back D&rsquo;Andre Swift. Though Swift&rsquo;s numbers were respectable, they didn&rsquo;t compare to Barkley&rsquo;s historic performance. The Bears&rsquo; run game averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, one of the league&rsquo;s worst.<\/p><p>For Barkley, the decision to sign with the Eagles instead of the Bears couldn&rsquo;t have worked out better. He now stands on the brink of leading Philadelphia to another Super Bowl title on his 28th birthday. Fans in Chicago, on the other hand, are left wondering <em>what could have been.<\/em><\/p><p><strong>Read More:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/cooper-kupp-2021-season-was-one-for-the-ages\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Cooper Kupp&rsquo;s 2021 Season Was One For The Ages!<\/a><\/p><p>Image: Imagn Images<\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barkley reveals how close he was to joining the Bears<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":15734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[167,799,3296],"class_list":["post-18772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-chicago-bears","tag-saquon-barkley","tag-saquon-barkley-chicago-bears"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Saquon Barkley reveals he was &lsquo;pretty damn close&rsquo; to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Saquon Barkley admits he nearly signed with the Chicago Bears in 2024 free agency, choosing the Eagles instead and leading them to a Super Bowl run.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saquon Barkley reveals he was &lsquo;pretty damn close&rsquo; to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Saquon Barkley admits he nearly signed with the Chicago Bears in 2024 free agency, choosing the Eagles instead and leading them to a Super Bowl run.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-06T11:28:56+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natasha Bose\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Natasha Bose\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Natasha Bose\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e3135cc30061efc5d03fc027c853ca\"},\"headline\":\"Saquon Barkley reveals he was \u2018pretty damn close\u2019 to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-06T10:28:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-06T10:28:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/\"},\"wordCount\":442,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Chicago Bears\",\"Saquon Barkley\",\"Saquon Barkley Chicago Bears\"],\"articleSection\":[\"NFL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/\",\"name\":\"Saquon Barkley reveals he was \u2018pretty damn close\u2019 to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency - The Playoffs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-06T10:28:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-06T10:28:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"Saquon Barkley admits he nearly signed with the Chicago Bears in 2024 free agency, choosing the Eagles instead and leading them to a Super Bowl run.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Saquon Barkley reveals he was \u2018pretty damn close\u2019 to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"description\":\"Share passion for sports &amp; betting\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Playoffs\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp\",\"width\":415,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"The Playoffs\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e3135cc30061efc5d03fc027c853ca\",\"name\":\"Natasha Bose\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83308f2b7276c52ea31f9010958810d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83308f2b7276c52ea31f9010958810d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Natasha Bose\"},\"description\":\"I write about sports because, well, it brings in the big bucks! I\u2019m not some lifelong analyst or stats guru, truth being told, you\\\\'ve probably never heard of me!\u2014I just know how to research, write, and make things sound good. That\u2019s the job! Got into sports media the same way most people do: by (fortunate) accident. Started with SEO writing, took on a few sports gigs, and now here we are! I cover games, trades, player drama\u2014whatever needs words. Favorite part? The chaos. One day it\\\\'s a blockbuster trade, the next it\\\\'s a goat running onto the field. Never boring. Message to readers: If you want deep analysis, there are people for that. If you want sharp, no-BS writing that actually makes sense, stick around.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/n.a.t.a.s.h.a.2\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/natasha-bosetheplayoffs-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Saquon Barkley reveals he was &lsquo;pretty damn close&rsquo; to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency - The Playoffs","description":"Saquon Barkley admits he nearly signed with the Chicago Bears in 2024 free agency, choosing the Eagles instead and leading them to a Super Bowl run.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Saquon Barkley reveals he was &lsquo;pretty damn close&rsquo; to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency - The Playoffs","og_description":"Saquon Barkley admits he nearly signed with the Chicago Bears in 2024 free agency, choosing the Eagles instead and leading them to a Super Bowl run.","og_url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/","og_site_name":"The Playoffs","article_modified_time":"2025-02-06T10:28:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Natasha Bose","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ThePlayoffsEN","twitter_site":"@ThePlayoffsEN","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Natasha Bose","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/"},"author":{"name":"Natasha Bose","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e3135cc30061efc5d03fc027c853ca"},"headline":"Saquon Barkley reveals he was \u2018pretty damn close\u2019 to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency","datePublished":"2025-02-06T10:28:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-06T10:28:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/"},"wordCount":442,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Chicago Bears","Saquon Barkley","Saquon Barkley Chicago Bears"],"articleSection":["NFL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/","name":"Saquon Barkley reveals he was \u2018pretty damn close\u2019 to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency - The Playoffs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-06T10:28:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-06T10:28:56+00:00","description":"Saquon Barkley admits he nearly signed with the Chicago Bears in 2024 free agency, choosing the Eagles instead and leading them to a Super Bowl run.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/USATSI_25228348_168416100_lowres-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706,"caption":"Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/saquon-barkley-reveals-he-was-pretty-damn-close-to-joining-the-chicago-bears-in-free-agency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Saquon Barkley reveals he was \u2018pretty damn close\u2019 to joining the Chicago Bears in free agency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","name":"The Playoffs","description":"Share passion for sports &amp; betting","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization","name":"The Playoffs","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/selo-tp-2020-415x280-1.webp","width":415,"height":280,"caption":"The Playoffs"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/ThePlayoffsEN","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theplayoffs_en\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e3135cc30061efc5d03fc027c853ca","name":"Natasha Bose","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83308f2b7276c52ea31f9010958810d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83308f2b7276c52ea31f9010958810d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Natasha Bose"},"description":"I write about sports because, well, it brings in the big bucks! I\u2019m not some lifelong analyst or stats guru, truth being told, you\\'ve probably never heard of me!\u2014I just know how to research, write, and make things sound good. That\u2019s the job! Got into sports media the same way most people do: by (fortunate) accident. Started with SEO writing, took on a few sports gigs, and now here we are! I cover games, trades, player drama\u2014whatever needs words. Favorite part? The chaos. One day it\\'s a blockbuster trade, the next it\\'s a goat running onto the field. Never boring. Message to readers: If you want deep analysis, there are people for that. If you want sharp, no-BS writing that actually makes sense, stick around.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/n.a.t.a.s.h.a.2\/"],"url":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/author\/natasha-bosetheplayoffs-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18772"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18772"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18775,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18772\/revisions\/18775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}