Report: Saquon Barkley sees Houston Texans as top potential destination, talking to C.J. Stroud

New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley is reportedly interested in joining the Houston Texans and has been in contact with one of the team’s top players in quarterback C.J. Stroud.

“The Texans are also expected to explore additional running back options and there are scenarios where they sign more than one running back,” Aaron Wilson wrote. “The headliner of the running back free agent class is New York Giants star Saquon Barkley, who has targeted the Texans as his top potential destination and has been communicating with Stroud, per league sources.”

Barkley has spent all six seasons of his NFL career with the Giants since he was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft after playing college football at Pennsylvania State University.

The 27-year-old running back appeared in 14 of the Giants’ 17 games in the 2023 regular season and totaled 962 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns and 51 first downs rushing. He also averaged 68.7 rushing yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

He ran for a season-high 128 yards in the team’s loss to the New York Jets back on Oct. 29, which marked the only time he accumulated 100-plus rushing yards in a single game all season. He did come close to triple digits a couple of weeks earlier on Oct. 15 against the Buffalo Bills when he had 93 rushing yards.

Despite Barkley’s solid season from an individual perspective, the Giants still ended up with a 6-11 record, which was the second-worst of any team in the NFC East, ahead of only the Washington Commanders.

The team that Barkley has allegedly circled as his top potential destination in the Texans had a much better season from a collective standpoint. Led by Stroud, Houston clinched the AFC South division with a 10-7 record. Plus, the Texans earned a 31-point win over the Cleveland Browns in the playoffs.

Stroud played in all but two of the Texans’ regular-season contests and ended up with 4,108 passing yards, 188 first downs passing and 23 passing touchdowns compared to only five interceptions. Additionally, he led the league in passing yards per game with 273.9.

Texans fans should get excited imagining an offense featuring Stroud and Barkley. After all, they are two of the better players at their positions in the NFL right now. Perhaps the acquisition of Barkley will allow Houston’s offense to reach greater heights in the 2024 regular season.