Saquon’s Barkley workload has become the elephant in the room for the Philadelphia Eagles.
In his first season with the Eagles, the star running back is having a remarkable year. He’s already rushed for 925 yards through eight games and six touchdowns. Barkley also has 20 receptions for 146 yards and two scores.
This past weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Barkley had the most touches in a game this season with 30, including the incredible and awe-inspiring backwards hurdle. On the season, he has 177 touches, which ranks third-most in the NFL.
Saquon Barkley jumping over a defender backwards after a few spin moves:
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) November 3, 2024
pic.twitter.com/sqT66Yf0Zg
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s E.J. Smith, Barkley is on pace for a career-high 376 touches. The Eagles don’t want to run Barkley into the ground before the playoffs, and the two-time Pro Bowler has had multiple injuries throughout his career, including a torn ACL.
“You try to do what you need to do to win each and every football game,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said, via The Philadelphia Inquirer. “You try to take care of them throughout the week. I think the two games, obviously not last game, but the game before that and the game before that, we were able to get him out in the fourth quarter. You try to monitor it as much as you possibly can, and that’s really our jobs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. And [we’re] being aware of it on Sunday.
“It’s always on our mind with how many touches he has.”
Because of that, Barkley had a rest day on Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
Related: Saquon Barkley claims the New York Giants never wanted him back for 2024 season
Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley not concerned about workload?
Speaking to the Inquirer’s Smith, the Eagles running back sounded off on his workload.
“If I ain’t worried about it, y’all shouldn’t worry about it, right?” Barkley said.
Barkley stated that he feels healthier halfway through 2024 because he’s not dealing with injuries like he did before with the Giants.
“Every year is different,” Barkley told the Inquirer. “Every year you deal with something and I’ve battled through something every year. This year, compared to others, I’m not dealing with injury — last year, I had the ankle injury — so that definitely makes things a lot easier. But, like I said, it’s just being more of a pro of trusting the process and falling in love with the journey.”
Barkley and the Eagles are seven-point road favorites against Dallas.
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