Saquon Barkley was eyeing this NFL team before eventually signing with the Eagles in free agency

The Philadelphia Eagles made one of the biggest signings of free agency this year when they added Saquon Barkley, but it’s a signing that might not have happened if the running back had ended up landing with the one team he was eyeing just before free agency started.

During an interview with Travis and Jason Kelce on the latest episode of their “New Heights” podcast, Barkley was asked if the Eagles were “always his top choice” in free agency, and although some players might have shied away from telling the truth with a question like that, the two-time Pro Bowler seemed to give a completely honest answer.

According Barkley, he was actually hoping to team up with C.J. Stroud in Houston.

“I’m going to be honest, that’s what this show is for,” Barkley said. “Probably the team that had my first interest was Houston. I got to communicate with C.J. and a couple of those boys, but this was before when you could actually put offers on the table and talk to teams.”

The free agency tampering period started on March 11, and it seems that the Texans never really came through with a serious offer for Barkley, because it only took a few hours on March 11 before he agreed to a three-year, $37.5 million deal with the Eagles.

Barkley never envisioned himself jumping ship to an NFC East rival, but in the end, it was the move that made the most sense for the 27-year-old.

“I probably never imagined myself playing for Philly, you know, six years ago,” Barkley said. “But it was like ‘I get to come back to Pennsylvania, my family is from Pennsylvania, my lady, our kids, grandmas, all that is from Pennsylvania,’ and we’re already close and we can even get to get closer.”

Barkley had essentially spent his entire life in Pennsylvania before being selected by the Giants with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He went to high school in Whitehall, which is roughly 65 miles outside of Philadelphia. After that, he made his way to Penn State, where he was a star for the Nittany Lions.

So although Barkley didn’t end up signing with his first choice, he seems more than thrilled that he eventually landed with the Eagles.