Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, fresh off a magical debut season in Philadelphia that culminated in First Team All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year honors for him and a Super Bowl championship for the club, created something of a panic during a recent appearance on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast.
“I’ll probably be one of those guys that it’ll be out of nowhere [when I retire],” Barkley said. “I’ll probably just wake up one day, whether it’s next year or two years or four years, and just be like, ‘Yeah it’s over.’ I don’t think I will ever lose that passion. I’m just a competitor…” (h/t Patrick McAvoy of SI.com).
Barkley went on to reference Barry Sanders, the legendary Lions RB who abruptly and unexpectedly retired before training camp of his age-31 season in 1999 (and on the heels of a campaign in which he tallied 1,491 rushing yards and earned his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl bid).
“One of my favorite players of all time, probably my favorite player of all time, is Barry Sanders, so probably similar to that,” Barkley added. “Maybe one day it will be out of nowhere. I’ll probably be balling and just be like, yeah, and call it quits.”
Of course, Sanders later revealed that his own decision to hang up his cleats was spurred by frustration with the Lions’ front office and the overall direction of the franchise. Detroit advanced to the NFC Championship Game in 1991, Sanders’ third season in the pros, but the team would not win another playoff contest until 2023. In the year immediately preceding his retirement, the Lions finished 5-11 and in fourth place out of five teams in the old NFC Central.
Barkley, meanwhile, is entering his age-28 season, and in light of the personal and team success he enjoyed with the Eagles in 2024, Philadelphia brass authorized a two-year, $41.2MM extension just one year after signing him to a three-year, $37.75MM accord in free agency. Behind a stout offensive front and in an offense with ample skill-position talent, Barkley led the league with 2,005 rushing yards in the 2024 regular season (in 16 games) and added 278 yards and 15 total touchdowns for good measure. He was equally impressive in the playoffs, recording a league-best 499 rushing yards and five TDs during Philly’s four-game postseason run.
Thanks to the recent extension, he is now under club control through 2028, which would be his age-31 slate. And while Sanders retired with multiple years remaining on what was then a record-setting contract, Barkley later clarified that he has no intentions of emulating his role model’s exit strategy in the near future.
“I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon,” Barkley told reporters, including PHLY’s Zach Berman. “I feel like I’m entering my prime.”
Had Barkley announced his retirement this year, it would have been even more shocking than Sanders’ announcement. And it sounds as if the former No. 2 overall pick of the Giants has designs on at least finishing out his current deal, which is surely good news for Eagles fans.
Barkley did struggle with injuries during his time with New York, and he indicated his eventual departure from the game will be largely dictated by his health.
“I don’t have a set date or how many years I want to play,” he said (via Nick Faria of Athlon Sports). “I would love to play this game as long as God lets me and my body lets me, so that’s really it.”
Barkley graces the cover of Madden 26. NFL fans know about the Madden Curse all too well.
If you believe in curses, do you also believe that a god is controlling the outcomes because one teams players/fans prayed a little bit harder?
Being a cynic, I believe god is more apt to control game outcomes based on the betting odds he can get from Draft Kings or Fan Duel than on prayers from players/fans.
I don’t think his son is a fan of the cross route.
I’ll pray for you
He’s been injury prone in his career and now he’s got the Madden cover 😬
Not really. He missed most of one season, and a few games here and there in his other seasons. Pretty much on par for a RB.
He missed almost a whole season and also missed three games in three different other seasons. That’s not insignificant, especially for a guy who was worked pretty hard in college and has a couple thousand touches in the NFL. I’m not saying he’s going to fall off a cliff all of a sudden, but it could very well happen at any point.
Couple weeks ago dude says he could retire out of nowhere. Now he says he doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon. I’d stick with his first statement. He’s on top right now and that could change quickly and then he’ll refer to his original statement. He’s just priming the pump.