We are having a hard time letting go of the fact that when it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles and their style of paying running backs big bucks on multi-year contract. … we have to go a decade back, to LeSean McCoy, to ID that guy.

But the rumblings of a chase for Saquon Barkley won’t go away, with NFL Network’s respected Tom Pelissero telling us on Monday, as the free agency tampering window opens, to “keep an eye” on the New York Giants star “coming home” to Philly.

There has been lots of gossip about Barkley and the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans and others. Barkley, who just turned 27, could in theory – if he really wants to be here – give the Eagles a “hometown discount” of sorts after playing his high school ball at Whitehall in the Lehigh Valley, just an hour or so outside of Philly. And of course he played at Penn State.

We do not view “a hometown discount” as likely; we view $12 million per year as likely.

There are other candidates who will come more affordably. D’Andre Swift, another free agent, who topped 1,000 yards in his first and only season in Philly this past year, could return to his hometown team. Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard and Austin Ekeler are on the board, too.

But the idea of the Eagles and Saquon is a sexy one. So we will indeed “keep our eyes” on the possibility of Philly zigging when it usually zags.